


I Was Baptized In Fire (Post-Burn)

by Kenbofosho



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games), Mortal Kombat - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Blood and Violence, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Rough Sex, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:08:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26528758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kenbofosho/pseuds/Kenbofosho
Summary: I did a pre-burn Kabal fic and I figured I'd do a post-burn one too!As per usual this is going to be graphically violent and contains a lot of triggering things. I'm too lazy for tags so your warning is here. It's porn with alot more plot than the last fic!
Relationships: Kabal (Mortal Kombat)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work wouldn't have been possible without Spidey❤️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a dialogue between Shang Tsung and Kabal, Shang claims he healed Kabal and it's the prompt that made me want to take the fic in this direction !

"Men like you serve men like me."

The wicked sorcerer's words echoed through his mind, haunting him from day to day and in his dreams and today was no different to remind him of his deal with the devil.

It was true that Kano had found him burned and saved his life, but that also meant that he owed Kano. 

For the rest of his life.

If he had owed one devil, what was it if he owed two?

When Kano saved him, he stayed by his side, too weak to fight and a loyalty to his savior that he had once abandoned. As the years went on, Kabal couldn't take being shackled to the respirator. Erron had told him about the deal he made with Shang Tsung and as the days went on it sounded sweeter and sweeter.

Now he was the enslaved lapdog to both evils. Shang Tsung kept him on a short leash. He healed Kabal's lungs so he didn't need to be tied to the respirator, but not his flesh or his mind. The wicked sorcerer dangled the offer of restoring him back to who he used to be right in front of his nose, using him for his own means and the possibility that he would ever fully heal him seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer by the day.

Today was a dull day as always. Kabal checked in to The Black Dragon HQ and grabbed coffee before he got his orders for the day. He had just sat down in his office and smelled the brew in his mug when Kano whipped open the door. "Oi, Kabal! Got a job for ya!"

Kabal nodded and took a sip of his coffee before following Kano. It was extra bitter and burnt tasting today, leaving a bad aftertaste in his mouth, as if predicting the outcome of the day.

He followed Kano to his office to receive the briefing angrily in tow. Kano's office always smelled like cigars and cheap beer but this time when he entered, the scent of lilac laced the scent of Kano. 

A woman sat on the couch, writing notes on a tablet in her lap. Her nose didn't unbury itself from her work when Kano made his crude introduction. "This is Zia. Our new sorceress and your new partner for this job. Now bugger off! I got a cagematch to oversee! She can fill ya in on all the details."

The woman still hadn't met Kabal's eyes when she left Kano's office, still typing on her tablet. "So, I'm going to need you to go home and pack enough for a month away." Her tone was neutral as she wrapped up her final notes, finally meeting Kabal's eyes. "Oh, and please only the essentials. I can conjure up most of what you'd need sustainice wise."

What an odd woman…

~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later he was back at Black Dragon HQ with his duffel bags in tow, still ignorant to what their mission was. At this point, he was numb to Kano's shenanigans, when he said jump, he obeyed.

The witch was waiting for him in his office. She appeared to be thumbing a spare set of hook swords that he had hanging on the wall. Kabal cleared his throat loudly to alert her to his presence, slightly miffed that she had invaded his space.

"Good. You're all ready to go." She said plainly. "Let me see your luggage and I'll make it more transportable for you."

She was impossible to read and Kabal was leery of the woman but after a few moments of apprehension, he handed her his bags. "Don't go through my shit, okay?"

The witch shot him an unamused glance as she waved her hand over his bags, enchanting them. She flicked a button that had conjured on the surface of each bag and it shrunk down to the size of a quarter. She shot back with equal attitude. "Push the button to make it big or small, pretty self explanatory. Now we are ready for Outworld."

He accepted his tiny worldly possessions with uneasy suspicion but nodded his thanks as he pocketed them. His body went rigid as the woman slipped a stone onto his dragon fang necklace. It caught him off guard to be touched like that, he was used to Black Dragon prostitutes that touched him as if he was plagued. This woman just touched him with no apprehension.

"It's a communication stone that's the other half to mine so you will never lose contact with me while we are in Outworld… just in case if we get separated." Just as fearlessly as before, she grabbed Kabal's hand and dragged him into their portal for Outworld.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, are you going to tell me what the hell we are doing here?" Kabal groused, glaring into their campfire.

They had made camp in a shallow cave in the Outworld canyons. Zia had sealed off the entrance to the cave so they were protected for the night. Now she was busy cooking their dinner over their fire, humming gently as she picked different herbs from her satchel to add to their meal. 

"We are looking for dragons." She said nonchalantly, offering Kabal a bowl.

He grunted his thanks when he accepted the bowl. "Care to elaborate?"

"Can't." She said through a mouthful of food. "It's just that. We are looking for dragons." 

She didn't ask questions, just like him and the similarity didn't sit well with Kabal. He expected her to be just like the other women, disgusted by his appearance and treating him like he was made of slime. She was none of those things, she was indifferent. 

She was a pain in his ass.

~~~~~~~~~

They ate in silence. Her food was cooked with passion and it was something he hadn't tasted in a while. She was even kind enough to conjure up a memory foam bedroll and bedding for each of them to have for the night.

The witch made no effort to get to know him. There was no invasive questions, ignorant statements or even screwball comments. They were there to look for dragons. That was it.

But he had questions nagging at him that he just couldn't ignore as he flopped around in his bedroll. "Dragons?" He questioned, needing to know more.

"Mhm." She hummed, adjusting in her bedroll that was on the opposite side of the fire to him. "Dragons, signs of dragons, eggs, bones, anything really."

Well that answered it, but didn't really satisfy his curiosity but before he could question further she added. "Don't worry about it Kabal. We are going on an adventure in Outworld and we might find something magnificent. That's really it." 

A break from Kano and his normal routine didn't sound too bad. Something different from his mundane days and the witch made it comfortable compared to if he was by himself. Doubt clouded his mind about the dragons, though. He was unoptimistic that they would find anything but a job is a job.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Surprisingly, she let him sleep in. The sorceress was humming a gentle tune while her nose was buried in her tablet. She had a knife in hand and seemed to be carving something into a stone.

Kabal hated that she was there. He hated that his space was invaded and that this job forced him to be close to someone… someone who looked through him in a way that made him uncomfortable. She looked at him as if he was… normal.

He didn't want to interrupt her concentration so he opted to walk outside. There was a small stream not too far outside so he could wash his face and brush his teeth. The tepid water was refreshing in the blistering Outworld sun that was already irritating his skin.

As he was fastening his wolftail back into place the sorceress was right there to hand him his belongings and fasten the stone to his dragon fang necklace opposite of the other stone she placed there yesterday. "This is a communication stone. It will translate yourself and others for fluent communication in case we run into some Tarkatans or something."

He groused at the fact that she just took the liberty to touch his things and said bitterly. "How do I know it worked?"

"Well you understood me. I was speaking Osh-Tekk." She answered flatly and turned to point to the mountains behind them. "We are going to work our way through the jungle and up that mountain. If I was a dragon, I'd wanna nest up there."

That mountain was as big and Johnny Cage's ego. It was gonna be a long hike.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their time wading through the jungle was spent with Kabal hacking at the tangled vegetation to clear their path and Zia making different notes on her tablet. 

It was mid-afternoon when Kabal requested a break. His hook swords needed to be sharpened and they were approaching a nearby town, so he wanted to cover up.

Outworld wasn't something Kabal was well educated on. He was quite happy in Earthrealm and intended for it to stay that way but he was curious. "Is it true that Tarkatans eat people?"

She hummed her confirmation as she typed on her tablet. "They breed and farm them like we do cattle. Humans mostly but do enjoy Osh-Tekk and Shokan meat equally as much. Humans are just more disposable."

He gritted his teeth in disgust as he passed his sharpening stone over his blades. He couldn't imagine being forced to breed and be slaughtered like a head of cattle.

They had found shade under a large tree while they took their break. It had seemed that Zia was quite enthralled with her work by the looks of her and Kabal took the time to get a good look at her. She was easy on the eyes, hair the color of dark chocolate and dusky green eyes, she was quite deliciously chunky and had a neutrality about her that Kabal hated. 

He was quite conditioned to everyone treating him like a broken man, too scarred to ever have worth. The Black Dragon prostitutes either touched him with disgust or laid their pity on too thick. His crowning moment was when D'Vorah called him hideous, fucking D'Vorah of all creatures!

Zia did none of those things. She was indifferent and it made his teeth hurt.

"So, I'm hoping at the next village I can trade my services for some Feroxes to climb the mountain with. It will go by much quicker with mounts." She finished her work on her tablet and finally put it down to meet Kabal's eyes.

When she looked up, she saw the swordsman with his full face mask on and leather gear. She felt sorry for him that he felt the need to cover up when going into large crowds, but she wasn't in any place to judge 

She felt guilty that she had been so buried in the mission that she had made no effort to get to know Kabal or make him feel more comfortable with her and as she was searching for words to say, the ground began to vibrate under their feet.

"What the hell is that?" Kabal asked bitterly.

The rumbling was now causing the puddles in the ground the ripple as it grew more and more intense. "I don't know, but it's big!" She replied, fear slipping out in her voice.

A great roar pierced into their ears as the giant beast made its way through the clearing. "A fucking T-Rex?!" Kabal shrieked, pulling his hook swords into a defensive position.

"Yes! The Kahn has one as his personal mount!" Zia screamed back, desperately trying to be heard over the beast's roar. "Kabal, look out! It's coming for you!"

The racing demon shot out of the beast's way, frantically trying to collect his thoughts. The rex was three times the size of his office back at HQ and Kabal had no idea how to fight it. 

He watched in horror as the rex roared again and charged for the sorceress. It's dripping maw was inches from her head when it snapped shut. With a frantic scream, Zia transformed herself into a mouse and scurried over to Kabal, up his pants leg and on his shoulder. "I'll distract it… just kill it!"

In a flash, she transformed into a cockatoo and began flying circles around the beast's head, pecking at its eyes to confuse it. Kabal saw his chance while the beast was standing still. He zipped over to the rex's ankle and dug his hook in deep to it's tendon, using all his power to slice through the massive thing.

Kabal fell forward as the flesh gave way, causing the crippled beast to topple over to one side, frantically trying to claw itself out of the situation it found itself in with its now useless leg. He caught his footing and stood there frozen for a brief moment as Zia returned back to her human form before him. "Finish it, Kabal!"

How the fuck do you finish a T-Rex!?

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Zia was bleeding from her shoulder. No doubt the rex had landed a bite on her when she was pecking at it. There was no time for that now. Kabal needed to put that thing out of its misery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Kotal riding a T-Rex is from the comics. If you haven't read them they're sooooo worth it. Feroxes are a creature in Ark:Survival Evolved and I think they would fit in well in Outworld


	3. Chapter 3

The rex turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Zia was able to trade it's body in the next town for two Feroxes, their rooms for the night, meals, and supplies for their journey. 

Kabal knew what he saw, though. She was wounded but Zia looked completely fine on the outside. When he questioned her about it, she shrugged him off and went to bed.

In the morning, she was nowhere to be found and he ate his breakfast in silence, trying to get accostumed to the fact that he just ate T-Rex for breakfast.

As he wolfed down his final bites, Zia joined him with two Feroxes on her shoulder. They were small, about the size of a lapdog, had four arms and two legs with a ferret like face. Kabal was not impressed. "Those weird cats aren't going to be able to carry me anywhere!"

Zia was put off by his attitude first thing in the morning and wasn't tolerating it. "Good morning to you too, Kabal." She was met with a grunt from the burned man but decided to let it go. "You're welcome to take your pick of the litter."

She set the two creatures down on the table for him to choose from. One was white with grey and black marbling and the other was black with brown and reddish marbling. That one had a funny looking ear and crooked fangs. "I'll take the ugly one I suppose."

"You'll need to give it a name." Zia took a seat across from him and pulled up a map on her tablet. "So as you've so expertly put together, these guys can't carry us yet. That's because Feroxes need to bond with their master's, which means we need to take a journey into The Black Bone Forest. In the forest there is a special mushroom that we need to feed these guys to evolve them into their final form, then we can go up the mountain."

"Up the mountain where there likely isn't any dragons?" He said a bit too harshly, catching himself. "I'm… sorry. I'm just out of my element."

She decided to cut him some slack and speak softly to him. "Do you know what you're going to name your little girl?"

He paused for a moment. She really looked like a 'Slagathor' but he was done being an ass for the day. "Feroxy-Roxy...?"

"Roxy is cute." The witch giggled, scratching the creature behind the ears.

Kabal smiled at the funny face it made and placed it on his shoulder. It's whiskers tickling his ear as it got comfy. "What about yours?"

The sorceress hadn't given it much thought as she rubbed her creature's belly. "I dunno, are you a Gravedigger? Or a Sprinkles?" The Ferox chirped and scampered up to her shoulder to lick her cheek. "No, I think you're a Boone!"

The Merc stood and pocketed his belongings. "Well, Boone, Zia, ready to head out?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After several days of traveling, the pair had reached the border of The Black Bone Forest. In the passing time Kabal and Zia grew more comfortable with one another. They didn't invade each other's personal space too much and Kabal was really enjoying his Ferox. The little creature was as ugly as he was and none of that seemed to bother either of them. 

They were sitting around their camp, eating the food that Zia had prepared and making conversation. "So tell me something interesting about yourself?"

Kabal was grateful she asked something so open ended and not too invasive. "I can play a bunch of different instruments fluently." 

That wasn't what she was expecting and she quirked an eyebrow. "Really? How did you start learning?"

"Mama made all us kids go with her to church and I was quite smitten with the pianist. I found out that she gave lessons and I jumped right on it." The swordsman actually smiled at the distant memory while he spoke. "I actually took to it pretty damn well and she got me enrolled with an after school program where I learned how to play more instruments as the years went on. I even got a full scholarship for college."

He left out the part about his older brother getting wrapped up in a gang and shot on the South Jersey streets, causing his family to fall apart. His mother had started drinking and he was stuck providing for his younger siblings with no father in the picture. In his struggle hustle he ended up crossing paths with Kano who pulled him up from a troubled teen and made him into the man he was today.

"I'm envious of you. I always struggled to read music." She smiled back, taking another bite of her food.

"Well you're a sorceress that can do just about anything so I think I can turn a blind eye to your one flaw." Kabal teased, tossing a bite of his dinner to both of the Feroxes. "And I do believe it is your turn to share, cupcake."

Zia rolled her eyes at the name and offered him something. "I'm a huge empath. I can feel what others feel and the potions, spells, enchantments that I cast I feel deep in my bones. So… I'm terrified of necromancy and the dark."

Kabal considered asking her what she felt when it came to him for a brief second but he decided against it. "Can you read minds?" 

"I can… but I can control when I do it and no, I've never read yours. I don't have an interest in it. I wouldn't like to be violated like that so I give people the same respect." Her doe eyes met his in earnest. "Please let that be our secret, Kabal."

"Likewise." 


	4. Chapter 4

The Black Bone Forest was eerie in the morning. It's fog was impenetrable and suffocating. The trees reflected the forest's name and it was a bit intimidating to step into. "They say the fog here swallows up those who enter it, hence why Feroxes are so expensive. So it's a good thing I snagged us a breeding pair."

Zia was dressed in dark leggings and a jacket to shield her from the fog. Her Ferox seemed hyper today. It was chirping and wiggling about on her shoulder impatiently. "These little guys can smell the mushrooms and will dig them up when they've found them but we are going to have to go pretty deep to find them, so please stick close."

Kabal could sense nervousness in the witch and did his best to be solid as they entered the fog. They couldn't see in front of them or where they were even stepping. Zia had almost tripped twice and was struggling to keep her balance. "They say the fog drives people to insanity. That it whispers to people and keeps them trapped here"

"Zia, you know how when people are crossing a rickety bridge over a deadly river 1000 feet up in the air and people always say 'don't look down'? Well, that was a 'don't look down' moment." Kabal spoke flatly.

"I'm sorry." She apologized genuinely. "I just don't know of a better way to say it. I should have said that warning before we even entered." 

~~~~~~~~~~~

They pushed on into the fog for an hour before stopping to get their bearings. Zia took a seat on a nearby tree stump and sighed. "I thought I was afraid of the dark, but this is worse!"

Kabal joined her, pulling his bag from his pocket and expanding it to size. He rummaged around through his belongings until he found what he was looking for, a full face mask. "Put this on, it has different vision modes and it might help you see a little bit better. Right now I'm using the thermal on a low setting." 

The idea of her face being fully enveloped did make her a bit uneasy but it sure beat being essentially blind. "Thank you, Kabal." 

He also handed her a hard candy. "It will keep your mind focused on sucking the candy instead of your fear. These things got me through my first few years of recovery."

She could have hugged him at that moment but the voices had started off in the distance. They were unintelligible but drawing closer. Zia slipped his mask on and before she could even get a feel for it, Kabal switched it onto his reccomended setting. "We got about 10 bodies heading our way."

Luckily for Zia whatever he did had helped her. She could make out the thermal silhouettes of the figures looming toward them. Before she could even figure out what to do with the Feroxes, they had scampered off into the fog without so much as a parting glance. 

Her eyes were focused on Boone and Roxy, leaving her flank open to the figure in the fog. They charged at her with a powerful speed, knocking her flat on her back with a yelp. Kabal was busy swinging his hook swords to cut down two more figures that had tried to double tap him. 

Their assailants seemed to be fog driven insane Outworlders. They were ranting in such a fashion that even though the witch's translation stones translated the words, they still didn't make any sense. 

Zia screamed as the lost Outworlder took a savage bite out of her already rex bitten shoulder. She jabbed a sharp knee into his groin to make him double over off of her. In a panic, she scurried to her feet to make her escape. She ran towards Kabal who had about three bodies at his feet and was working on another when she noticed that they were surrounded by five more insane and bloodthirsty Outworlders. 

Kabal was stuck in a sword battle with two of the Outworlders that were wielding their blades obnoxiously and in a dangerously unpredictable way. The first sword blow, he blocked and with the other sword he hooked the Outworlder's wrist, severing her arm off, causing an ungodly shriek to roll from her. That didn't slow her down though, she savagely lunged at the merc who was busy still sword fighting the other Outworlder and bit down on his bicep. 

It wasn't until the searing pain of having his bicep ripped open had made his world a little more clear that he noticed Zia running for him, shoulder bleeding again. Clumsy as ever she had been so busy looking behind her to her assailant that she tripped over one of the bodies at Kabal's feet, landing flat on her face.

In her fall, she managed to knock the footing out from Kabal's assailant, freeing his muscle of her teeth so he could continue fighting off the other five Outworlders that had them surrounded. 

They were completely overwhelmed and outmanned. Kabal was only defending, not dealing with their assailants and Zia couldn't even get up because the hoard of Outworlders that were attacking her partner were also trampling her in the process. The idea that they were done for had crossed both of their minds for a brief moment.

Zia was starting to feel the brunt of the trampling when a mighty roar rippled through the fog followed by the thunder of paws. It was Roxy and Boone, fully evolved into their massive beast form and ready to defend their masters. 

Roxy was first to attack, she grabbed the knocked down Outworlder by the head and tore it off with a mighty shake of her head. Boone on the other hand did crowd control, he pinned down the four that were surrounding his master and her partner with each of his four arms. His mighty weight cracked their ribs and held them steady so Kabal could finish them off for good.

A sore Zia shakily stood to her feet. "Let's get the fuck out of here! The Feroxes can carry us now and know the way out by scent. I can treat your wounds once we are safe."

Kabal didn't even have the energy to respond, he just followed the sorceress's lead and climbed onto Roxy's back for her to carry him to safety.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their camp was made up high in a colossal jungle tree a safe distance from that horrible fog. The Feroxes were terrific climbers and scaled the massive tree with ease and the tree was so large that it's trunk and limbs made a good place to make camp.

Kabal hissed as Zia cleaned his wound. It had seemed that the Outworlder had bit him with so much force, she lost a tooth inside the bite. "Kabal, I need you to relax for me." Her voice was tender but anyone touching his mottled skin always seemed to set him on edge. 

"Just be quick!... Please…" He grumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his bedroll.

"Listen to me, I'm going to use healing magic on you. It may feel a bit violating but I assure you I'm just trying to help." The witch warned, making sure Kabal nodded his approval before she began.

Her magic was a warm vibration through his throbbing bicep. It penetrated deep into the muscle. He felt as it slowly mended the torn muscle and tissue back together. Kabal had caught the look of concentration in her eye while she worked and stared at her for longer than he cared to admit. During that time he noticed that she was finally sucking on the hard candy he had given her, thinking to himself that it was the reason she was so calm after such an ordeal.

Once his arm was back to 'normal', Kabal questioned. "Is that what you did for yourself? You got bit too."

The witch shrugged him off again. "Something like that." She was tensely silent as she returned to her bedroll, something was obviously eating at her mind. "I'm sorry I'm not much use in a fight. You never should have even gotten hurt."

Kabal was a bit annoyed with how harsh she was on herself. "That's unfair, Zia. You just healed my sliced up muscle, you give us a luxury camp and make sure to do everything you can so we are comfortable. I never would have been able to take out that rex without you. The list goes on!"

The pair had different strengths and weaknesses and Kabal knew that if he had been on this trip with anyone else he would be slumming it in a sleeping bag, getting eaten by bugs and eating god knows what for survival. 

In reality he had no reason to dislike the sorceress. His insecurities and scars made him dislike her, but in reality, she wasn't a bad person at all, on the contrary to be exact. She was a delight to be around and he just didn't know how to enjoy her.

But he wasn't the only one with insecurities. "If I wasn't so bad then Kano wouldn't have offered to pay me extra to sleep with you." She said bitterly, catching how insensitive she sounded. "I apologize, I didn't mean for it to sound like-"

"Why the fuck would Kano pay you to fuck me?" Kabal's temper was bubbling now, not at Zia, but at Kano.

She didn't know if she should tell him, but decided that the truth was important since they spend so much time together. "I dunno, he claimed you don't really use the prostitutes he sends for you and he figured maybe I was more your 'type', I told him that he was a pig and that's not the kind of woman I am."

Kabal couldn't blame her for not wanting to do it. He had seen just how much Kano paid some of the prostitutes he 'used' before. It was a pretty taxing commission on the Black Dragon's payroll.

Her tender voice had cut through his angry thoughts. "I enjoy you, Kabal. I'm enjoying our time and you're a trustworthy partner. I would request to work with you again in a heartbeat."

The swordsman grinned a little as he lay back in his bedroll for the night. "Likewise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://kenbofosho.tumblr.com/post/631092451285860352/here-is-feroxyroxy-and-boone
> 
> I coded the two Feroxes in ark so you can get a visual❤️


	5. Chapter 5

They took the next few days to rest and to get used to their evolved Feroxes. On the final day they had slept in and after breakfast Zia had proposed they go down to the river to bathe and wash their clothes.

"Pile up all your laundry on Roxy's pack. It's a hot day so the water will feel lovely I'm sure." The sorceress was in high spirits today as she made her way for the jungle pool. 

Kabal was several steps behind in tow, making sure that Roxy was following. He had decided that she was right about the weather and was looking forward to relaxing in the water for a bit. 

"They say that the water in Outworld has magical properties." She added, slipping off her top to expose her bare chest.

The swordsman choked and shielded his eyes. "I'm sorry!"

She shot him a curious look as she stripped off her bottoms. "Am I really that repulsive? Or are you just afraid of nipples?"

"I'm not afraid of nipples! A-and you're not repulsive!" He retorted curtly, embarrassing himself. "I just didn't think you'd be naked…"

"Well do you bathe with clothes on, Kabal?" The witch asked sarcastically as she stepped into the tepid pool, fully naked.

"Well… no…"

"Okay then." She interrupted. "I'm sure your nipples are beautiful and you need to wash your crotch so stop being so awkward."

Roxy broke the awkward tension between them as she plowed into the warm water and started splashing about. Zia whistled her over and removed her pack so that the beast could resume galavanting in the water with its mate.

With the sorceress submerged and focused on scrubbing their clothes, Kabal figured now was as good of a time as ever to strip and get in. The water actually felt pretty good on his skin but he couldn't shake the itching feeling of vulnerability. "This will be the first time I ever get jumped with my fucking cock out if we get attacked…"

"I put a ward up around us the night we came out of the fog. No one is going to bother you or your cock." She spoke flatly, slightly amused by the swordsman's theatrics.

Kabal pulled the tie off his wolftail and shook out his hair, fully submerging himself in the water. Zia observed silently while she scrubbed their clothes. Burns really expanded most of his body and left angry souvenirs in their place. Despite all that, she managed to catch flickers of life in his eyes that let her know that despite him being broken, he was still the person he used to be.

"I see Kano was kind enough to save your nipples." The witch teased with a grin.

He was sunk into the water, just his eyes above the surface looking like a very irritable crocodile when he heard her tease. "They say that if you rub them, I'll grant you three sexual wishes."

The witch was ready to play his game. "My first wish would be to collar and peg you."

"Jesus!" He hissed as he started to shampoo his hair. 

"My second would be to tie you up and make you beg."

Normally he was the one doing the tying…

"My third would be-"

"Nooooooopeeee! You win, witch!" He interrupted with a laugh. "It's been a while since I've met someone with my level of petty in them. It's refreshing… yet disturbing."

"My nipples aren't magic, I'm a bit jealous." She teased.

He exhaled a laugh at that one. "My nipples and my groin is all I really got to keep. They always made fun of me on the force for wearing a crotch guard but I got sick of being kneed in the dick by crackheads. It ended up saving that from being burned too"

"Not a masochist?" She grinned.

"Naw… sadist."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With clean clothes and refreshed bodies. It was time to make their way up the mountain. The Feroxes were massive beasts with four arms and two legs. They had ferret-like faces with sharp teeth and glowing purple eyes. Their saddle was like a backpack that they carried their rider in and they could scale straight vertical inclines of mountains.

The first day of climbing wasn't unbearable. The Ferox's fur was long and thick, insulating them well against the bitter cold. It just took some time to adjust to riding in a saddle. 

The second day Zia wasn't as talkative as she used to be. Maybe it was the fact that the mountain seemed so daunting or just anticipation for maybe finding dragons.

The third and fourth day were equally quiet but they were approaching the peak. Zia revealed a system of tunnels and caves that led to the peak that they needed to explore. She seemed to be much more business but Kabal had chalked it up to her focusing on the mission.

On the fifth day they were an hour into entering the catacombs and we're walking on foot. Zia had her nose buried into her tablet, mapping their twists and turns into the icy abyss. She conjured up a little ball of light that hovered over each of their shoulders so that they could see as they walked deeper into the unknown.

Zia looked pale and was struggling to focus as the hours went on and Kabal was growing worried. "You're sick.”

"It's just jungle fever. I'll be fine." She shrugged him off. 

"At least ride on Boone so you can rest more?" Kabal reasoned, realizing the sorceress was as stubborn as he was. 

But she couldn't argue with reason and eventually gave in. 

"Tell me why you left The Black Dragon and became a cop?" The witch asked, wanting to know more about the person she was seemingly lost in the catacombs with and wanted a distraction from how bad she felt.

Kabal wasn't a secretive person. He just didn't openly share because it didn't matter anymore. It had been a while since he had told his story. "It boiled down to the fact that I knew I wanted kids and then Erron left so I didn't have my partner anymore."

The way that Kabal cared for his crooked little Ferox definitely let Zia know that he was good father material but one thing was itching at her mind. "Did you feel like you made up for your past sins?"

He scoffed. "I once ripped a man's intestines out and strangled him with them… slowly. You don't atone for that shit." The more he thought about it, the more he felt he needed to add. "I just became a different person for a while, I suppose."

"Did you ever have kids?"

"Sareena did get pregnant but after I went straight she decided to terminate it and me from her life and crawled back to the Netherrealm to find a man with more spine." He spat bitterly. "She still does dealings with Kano and when she saw me with the burns… I've never seen her laugh so hard."

Saying 'I'm sorry' wouldn't have done a damn thing to soothe that heartache, so instead she opted to empathize with the man with a story of her own. "Kabal…" She began. 

The way she said his name was a bit fuzzy so Kabal had turned to steal a glance at her when he noticed blood dripping down from her nose and welling up in her eyes. "Why are you staring at me so funny, speedy?"

"Zia, you're bleeding! You don't feel that dripping off your face?"

"My name is Lucrezia!" She shouted, offended at his indifference.

Lucrezia? She had never shared that with him until now. Her lucidity seemed to be slipping.

"You know, once when I was a kid, I ate a ladybug on accident and oh my looooord, it tasted awful!" 

"Lucrezia." He corrected himself. "You feeling okay?"

"Lucrezia?!" She angrily parroted back. "Who the hell told you my full name?!"

Oh no…

Panic was really setting in now. This was clearly more than jungle fever and they were days deep into a lost mountain maze that neither of them knew how to navigate.

Kabal knew her tablet had a map on it that she was marking of their every turn and he knew he needed to start there if they were to escape. 

"Do you like the color yellow? I feel like it's very underrated."

"I agree." He said gently, trying to humor his sick partner as he rummaged through Boone's saddlebags for her tablet.

It was fucking password protected.

"Sweetheart, what's your password?" He asked gently as possible, trying to suppress the anxiety in his voice.

"69." She giggled, attempting to wipe the blood she was dripping off her face but ended up smearing it all over her plush lips and cheek. "Hey! You want to? I actually think you're quite attractive despite… well, you know."

Well, he sure hoped she was rambling truths.

He needed to find a way into that tablet. So, he decided to make camp for the night… but Zia always provided their camp and food with her magic. They were in such a small dead end of the tunnel that a fire would be impossible, the smoke would suffocate them. She provided the bedrolls and blankets also, so they needed to improvise. All Kabal had was a sleeping bag he had stuck in his duffel bag before setting out. 

Church was more his mama's thing, but he whispered a silent praise for his preparation in this desperate situation. Kabal had Roxy lay down and he sat propped up against her belly. It took some gentle coaxing but he had managed to get Zia to come lay in his lap with her back against his chest so that he could unzip the sleeping bag and use it to cover them both.

It wasn't perfect but it was for survival's sake.

Zia wasn't rambling like a mad woman, she was just rambling. "I'm surprised it took you this long to want to cuddle, Kabal."

He decided to try a different approach to getting her tablet password. "What's your favorite numbers?"

"Does that super speed happen during sex too? Oh my Lord I bet you could rearrange my guts!"

Kabal tried desperately to conceal his giggle. It had been a while since a woman was this forward with him and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't amusing. He had laid some ice out to melt so that he could clean the blood off of Zia's face and decided that now would be a good time to do it. He wasn't getting anywhere with the tablet and maybe she would be more coherent in the morning. 

There was no first aid kit, so he opted to dip a clean sock of his in the water to wipe off the blood off her face. He was gently dabbing at the congealed liquid and noticed it was much darker than normal. 

Zia gently hummed at his touch, eyes heavy with sleep. "When I was a child. My mother's boyfriend used to come in my room at night. Despite being so little, I always started to cry as soon as he came in because I knew he wasn't supposed to be there and then he would choke me until I became unconscious and stopped crying. I told my mom years later and she told me that it seemed 'worse in my child mind than it really was' and never believed me."

Kabal was no stranger to his mother's shitty boyfriends but nothing like that. Despite all their struggles as children, his mother loved her kids and they loved her. That was on a whole nother level. Zia was not rambling like she was insane. It was if she had no filter for what she said. He really wanted to say something to her but judging by the way she was breathing, she was already asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kabal woke several hours later to the moist sounds of Boone licking the blood off Zia's face. She was still curled up against his chest but her eyes, nose and now mouth were leaking jet black blood. The beast was just concerned for it's master, so Kabal gently shooed it away so he could dab up the liquid on her face 

"My ex used to spit on my face and call me pig during sex."

She was still making awful confessions in her delirium that made Kabal's teeth hurt. "Shhhh. I won't hurt you." He murmured to her in vain.

"My mom said no one would ever love me because I'm fat. Jokes on her though because I'm fatter now than I was then and I have a pet goldfish that loves me!"

Kabal removed the sleeping bag off of them so he could check and see if she was bleeding from anywhere else. Instead he found the sorceress in what appeared to be a different skin. The skin she was wearing was littered with various scars. She had an acid burn that trailed from her cheek and disappeared down her shoulder and breast, covered by her tank top. The opposing side of her mouth had what seemed to be someone's twisted version of carving a smile on her face. Kabal knew that torture technique all too well since he had given so many.

"Why am I never good enough?"

"Shhhh, baby, I've got you." Kabal hushed her gently again while he looked at the scars on her wrists, it had appeared she had attempted suicide at one point… except these were ragged scars that trailed all around her wrists…

"It's time for my lost sheep to come home." A leering voice hissed in the distance.

In a flash Kabal was on his feet, swords at the ready as the figure came into view.

It was a woman with hair of ghostly fog and teeth of a Tarkatan. She had a serpent's tongue and eyes and talons for fingernails. "I've been looking for you."

"Who the fuck or what the fuck are you?" Kabal growled.

"You were supposed to stay in my fog but she healed you." The fog maiden sneered, circling around Kabal in a ghostly motion.

"Is that why she's sick?" Kabal asked, his eyes never leaving the woman. Her eyes confirming his suspicion.

"No matter." She began, revealing a glowing third eye on her forehead. "I'm just going to have to take you both home!"

Kabal watched in disgust as the fog maiden split into a dozen clones of herself, strafing back and forth to confuse him as to which one was the original.

The swordsman was in no fucking mood to deal with this today. He took off in a full sprint and sliced down two of the clones. As his swords went into them, they each disappeared into a puff of fog causing him to stop for a brief second to understand what had just happened. 

That brief second gave the real fog maiden ample time to rush Kabal from behind and shove him to the ground. He landed with a grunt and quickly rolled back to his feet to face her but she cowardly retreated back into her mob of clones.

For each clone he cut down, she replaced equally as quickly and it was testing his patience. With a harsh cry he zipped forward again, slicing down each clone as he desperately searched for the original. The regenerated clones cackled like hyenas as he failed to find the source. "Come fight me you scaredy cunt!" He roared as he sliced through another clone.

Another cackle pierced his eardrums as she shoved him down again. It was nearly impossible to keep tabs on her while avoiding being ensnared in the stare of her third eye. 

"You will both succumb to the fog plague one way or another!" She screeched, pinning Kabal down on the ice by his shoulders. Her serpent's tongue snaked inside his nose and out of his mouth, making him gag.

Through his wretching, he was able to grasp his hook swords and slice off the fog maiden's tongue. The searing pain made her flail off him in agony, screeching and clawing at her bleeding mouth.

Kabal seized his opportunity. It was his turn to pin down the wretched monster but this time she wouldn't get away and she would suffer his wrath. He sliced and sliced, screaming obscenities and curses as he tore her apart from the inside out, leaving nothing but red pulp under him. 

"Kabal." A small voice floated toward him in the background. 

Zia's voice ripped him from his rage as he turned to face her, coated in blood and viscera. She appeared to be back to her normal self appearance wise and very confused. "What the fuck happened?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Umm…" Where should Kabal even begin? He gathered his thoughts as Zia conjured up a proper camp for them and started making them a meal. "You got sick. I'm guessing from that bite you denied receiving in the fog." He caught Zia roll her eyes at his comment and snapped. "Are you really going to deny it when the fucking fog bitch just hunted us down!?"

"I'm sorry…" She whimpered, defeated. "It looks like the fog maiden isn't going to hunt us anymore… thank you, Kabal."

"You know what that thing is?" Kabal asked sheepishly, a bit ashamed for snapping at her. 

"Yes. It's an evil spirit. I guess she was the source of the fog and ensnared people in it. Looks like we were the only ones to escape… I wasn't too much of a handful when I was sick?" Zia paused and noticed her face was encrusted in dried black blood.

Kabal could have hidden the truth from her and sugar coated it, but decided against it. "Well… um… you babbled, but not like the weird fog zombies. You said more like… confessions."

The color drained from Zia's face and her eyes got wide. "What the fuck did I say?!"

He felt like he violated her with how much information he knew but he gritted through it. "Well you told me you ate a ladybug when you were little and you loved the color yellow."

"Kabal." Zia warned, knowing he was beating around the bush.

The swordsman sighed, completely defeated. "You told me about your ex, and your mother."

Zia wanted to run and hide, embarrassment blanketing her soul. Tears started to well and drip down her bloody cheeks. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that…"

After all the years of wearing his trauma on his skin, Kabal knew that she had nothing to be ashamed of. "Hey… hey." He cooed, scooting over to her to swipe her tears away. 

"I-I shouldn't have said that."

"Shhhh." He whispered as her tears grew fatter, gathering her in his arms apprehensively, not knowing if she would accept his touch. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about." He took his damp sock and started wiping the blood off her flush cheeks. "You also came on to me."

The witch hiccuped an embarrassed giggle. "Oh my god, I didn't!"

With her growing giggles and sniffles, Kabal relaxed and laughed with her. Once her face was clean, he carded his fingers into her hair, his thumb rubbing lazy circles on her tear stained cheek. The way she leaned into his touch was just too irresistible and Kabal couldn't fight the temptation to lean in and capture her lips with his.

She gasped at their fiery connection, her hands following his lead and cradling his jaw as they tasted one another. Kabal tasted like true grit and concealed passion. He was sweet and soft, so eager to drink her down.

When their kiss broke, Zia smiled. "Did I ask that of you in my delirium?"

"Just to 69." Kabal said casually, pulling her in for another kiss so he could taste her shocked squeak. Before the burns he loved to have a beautiful woman squirming under him and tasting it after so long was intoxicating. "Lucrezia." He whispered her name like a prayer against her skin.

"I told you that too, huh?" She smiled, cheeks turned rosy.

"It's beautiful. A classic catholic name that rolls off the tongue." Kabal didn't give her time to respond, stealing another hungry kiss from her. His tongue eager to tangle with hers and swallow her whimpers. 

He set her body alight with the way he spoke to her, the way he touched her. It was so enjoyable, she couldn't get enough. "I should confess… I hate the 69. I like to look at who I'm pleasuring."

A woman after his heart. "Likewise."

Kabal was so focused on her and their kisses, that he didn't notice that Zia had changed their camp. They were now in a downy bed with rose and lilac petals, soft candle light illuminated her pale skin. She was unbuckling his fur mantled leather coat, her fingers eager to finally touch him.

When they finally made contact with his pecs, she felt him tense up, insecurity rearing its head. "Shhhh." She comforted as she dimmed the candle lights to almost dark.

Everything that could go wrong, seemed to go wrong in his life for so long and now he was blessed with a gorgeous sorceress in his bed who actually wanted to touch him. Fervent, soooo fervent, but patient, Zia's fingers ghosted over his still clothed muscles, diving lower and lower until they were tugging at the hem of his shirt. 

Kabal didn't skip a beat removing it and switching to slipping his fingers under hers, removing it as well. They were tangled in a delicate push but Kabal surrendered to Zia, allowing her to push him onto his back against the pillows. 

Hot pulses of pleasure shot through him when her hips seated themselves on his member, still confined in his jeans. She was able to capture his groan when their groins connected in her mouth and taste it. Her back arched when his fingers snaked their way from her hips up to her ribs to the clasp of her bra.

Another pleased groan rumbled from his core when he caught the first shameless glimpse of her breasts in all their glory. They were heavier than a handful and beautifully soft and jiggly. "Perfect." He whispered as he took one in his palm and his other thumb stroked her opposite nipple, soliciting a whimper from Zia. "And sensitive? Mmmmm." The swordsman hummed his approval while he felt her cheeks blush under his kiss. 

Zia ground her hips again against his throbbing, confined cock, causing him to grunt again. "Who's sensitive now, baby?" She teased, trailing her kisses down his jaw to his pulse point and biting the tender area. The bite shot another wave of pleasure through Kabal and in response he tweaked her nipple, reciprocating the pleasure.

He was about to ask her if she wanted another pinch when her kisses kept trailing down his chest to his groin. She kept pressing hot, open mouthed kisses on his lower abdomen while she took her sweet time unbuckling his belt. The kisses didn't stop there, they peppered his member, still straining in his jeans while she slowly dragged his zipper down. 

His brain was foggy, swimming from the anticipation and the fact that he held his breath while he watched this gorgeous woman tease the life out of him. It was only when she shimmied down his jeans and continued peppering her kisses on his straining cock did he realize that she was doing much more than just teasing. She was gently worshipping him, lapping at the wet spot in his briefs, savoring his musk.

With his cock now out and bottoms fully removed, Kabal admired the woman between his spread legs. She was tenderly running her tongue along his shaft, eager to taste him. Her tongue stopped at the sensitive underside of his crown, wiggling, pulling another moan from Kabal who now carded his fingers into her hair and was rubbing gentle circles on her scalp. 

Zia took the entire crown of his cock into her mouth, tongue swirling around as she sank down on it at an agonizingly slow pace. Her eyes were locked on Kabal's to gauge his response. "So good, baby." He gasped as she hilted herself and swallowed, holding herself there for a few seconds before swiping her tongue along his balls, making him moan loudly. 

The pleasure was indescribable. It made his whole body tingle and it made him find himself rutting into her each time she sank down on him. His fingers tangled in her hair while he grunted praises and his balls lurched.

She looked up at him like his cock was the best thing she had ever tasted and it drove him wild. It made him eager to lay his claim to her body and see if he could do the same to her as she did to him.

"Baby." He groaned, selfishness nipping at his insides and not wanting her to stop. "You're gonna suck the soul outta me if we don't stop."

"Can I have it?" She asked in earnest, wiping some saliva off her bottom lip.

With the way his head was spinning, she just might get it at this rate. Instead, he opted for pulling her up to his level for a kiss and laying her on her back. "Let me earn yours instead." He whispered against her lips before his trailed down to a nipple. 

Lord have mercy, were they ever sensitive. Just as he started to suckle, she twisted and mewled under his lips. His rough hand trailed down her soft belly and slid over her leggings to the wet spot in her leggings. Another heady whimper rolled from her as she bucked into his fingers. 

Searing impatience had gotten the best of her. "Kabal… just… fuck me."

Pretending as if he didn't hear her, Kabal began to rub lazy circles on her wet mound while his teeth rolled her pink nipple.

"Please." 

Fuck, she was so adorable when she whined. "Easy, baby. Be patient. You're gonna want me to open you up before I put my cock in. I don't wanna hurt you."

His fingers hooked under her leggings and panties and pulled them off in one fell swoop. "I can take it." She protested impatiently.

"Oh you will take it, baby. Just let me get you ready first." Zia wasn't unaware of the size of his cock and knew deep down he was right. "Come on, sweetheart. Spread your legs for me."

Kabal knew that it wouldn't be the last of her impatient whining, so he opted to silence her with a kiss. His tongue was exploring the soft surface of hers while his fingers traced her slit, coating them in her slick. Then he spread her open and lazily traced her pearl, each rotation making her quiver. "Please." She whined again when he released her for air. 

"Shhhh." He cooed as his first finger plunged into her, sinking down to the knuckle and making her hips buck. It made his heart flutter to see just how eager she was to be fucked by him. That was desire he hadn't known in years. 

The second finger was rubbing her internal sweet spot and building a coil in her belly. With each pump he felt her walls adjust more and more so he could add a third. The squishy wet sounds were so intoxicating and the scent of her sex was almost too much.

But the sounds she made when she came on his fingers, oh those were the cherry on top of just how delicious her begging was. When he was finished working her down from her orgasm, he withdrew his dripping fingers to cup her face again. To his surprise, what was supposed to be a tender embrace, was sidelined and she sucked her slick off his fingers instead.

The eye contact they made while she performed that wonderfully sinful act was blazing. Kabal's mouth was agape in awe and her eyes screamed 'please fuck me'. 

Her heat seemed to subside when Kabal knelt between her spread legs, the head of his cock tracing her slit. Her delicate fingers wrapped around his face and pulled him down for another kiss. "It's okay, Kabal."

For once, he didn't question if it really was okay. He didn't dwell on his flaws and burned flesh or the fact that he didn't think he deserved happiness ever again. All he focused on was the beautiful blessing of a woman that was underneath him and wasn't about to waste it.

Kabal drank down her moan when he sank into her, taking his time to bottom out to feel her walls clench around him. Her whine was impatient when he stilled for a moment and it made him want to ask her if she was okay but she spoke before he could ask. "Thank you for working me open… I get a little cock drunk and impatient but I definitely needed it."

He couldn't help his chuckle because he had never heard the term 'cock drunk' but the more he thought about it, the more her actions made sense to the term. Her hips were the first to move, gently rolling back and forth, desperate for his cock to rub that sweet spot inside of her. 

Kabal learned the full definition of 'cock drunk' once he started thrusting and Zia's eyes got glazed over, rolling back into her head. She was beautiful in the candlelight like that. Her tongue lolled inside her mouth and she bit her lip to stifle her moans. 

As his hips snapped into hers, shooting hot pleasure through both of them, Kabal cupped her face and whispered praises to her to keep her grounded. "Look at me while you take my cock, pretty baby."

She obeyed, the look on her face and the way her body jiggled was a sight worth saving in his memory bank. "You're so fucking big!" She cried, her hips snapping back into his.

Her essence was dripping off his balls now and the wet sounds overcame their ragged breathing. Her praise made heat pool in his belly. "You're gonna make me cum again, Kabal!" She was squealing sooooo pretty now, clawing at his shoulders to brace herself.

He grit his teeth as he felt her final clench, her insides were fluttering like crazy, milking his orgasm from him. He came with a sharp curse, his arms wrapped under her arms and over her shoulders, clutching her tight to him. 

She was absolutely trembling, each shake sent his body alight with his sensitive post-orgasm cock still inside her, but he still held her close, determined to see her through. "Shhhh, baby. I got you."

Indeed he did have her until she stopped trembling, he rolled off her and onto his back, cradling her up against his chest. He was murmuring compliments against her hair while she returned back to the world of the living. 

After a few minutes of laying there, Zia did return back to the world of the living. She quietly got out of bed and went to go clean herself up behind the partition of the room she conjured for them. 

When she returned, she was still naked but her hair was tied up. "The water is still warm if you'd like to brush your teeth or wash up." She smiled as she climbed into bed. 

Kabal was so grateful for magic. He could rinse the sweat off himself and climb into silk sheets all while slumming it in the deepest pit of Outworld.

Once he was finished, Kabal made his way back into bed. This time Zia held her arms out for him and he obliged. He couldn't remember the last time he had been held and the way she tenderly ran her fingers through his hair made him melt. "Thank you." He said honestly, his words clouded by her comfort.

Zia wondered if he thanked the prostitutes he slept with or if it was something deeper. "What for?"

Kabal paused for a moment. He needed to put into words just what he was feeling. "You treat me like I'm...normal."

"What's wrong with you?" She asked earnestly, cradling his head over her heart.

He didn't know how to answer that one. What wasn't wrong with him? "Uhh…"

"Honestly, Kabal. What is so wrong with you?"

"Look at me, Lucrezia!" Kabal cried, trying to sink deeper into her embrace and hide. 

"Kabal, we have made eye contact plenty of times for you to know that I have been looking at you."

Her whole play ignorant act was painfully frustrating to the swordsman. "I'm a monster…"

Zia debated on turning him into a lizard or something to prove he wasn't a monster, but decided against it. "Tell me what makes you a monster."

Was it the killing? The torture? The crime? Or just the way he looked? Good question. Kabal sighed before speaking. "I-"

"Am human." Zia cut him off, cradling him tight to her breast. "You are human, Kabal and there is nothing wrong with you. We all have our scars to bear and yours are just on the outside and the inside."

It was like she waved a magic wand and made everything… enjoyable. No point in arguing it, just enjoy it. "Thank you, Lucrezia."


	7. Chapter 7

Kabal fucking hated the cold, hate hate hate hate hate. 

The next two days were spent trudging between different tunnels and getting lost deeper and deeper in the ice… only to find nothing. 

Zia had decided that they needed to regroup, spend a few days in Z'unkahrah to resupply, maybe pick up a new lead and just relax from the gruelling trip.

The teleport to Z'unkahrah went smoothly but finding accommodating lodging was proving to be… challenging. Things were much more humble and primitive in Outworld and Zia was hoping to find a place nice enough where she wouldn't need to use magic and rest. 

That definitely was seeming like a pipe dream. 

The pair had stopped at a map kiosk and while Zia was browsing different wares, Kabal sat with the Feroxes. It wasn't until he heard the familiar jingle of spurs that he realized, he wasn't alone. 

"Little brother." The cowboy greeted as he ruffled Kabal's hair, approaching him from behind.

Kabal turned to face the drawl behind him and groused. "Nice to see you too, Black."

Erron folded his arms and pouted behind his mask. "I see you're just as miserable as ever."

The swordsman's irritation was about to bubble up when Zia came back to his side, grinning because she had new information.

"My, my!" The cowboy greeted, extending his hand for Zia's. "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes!" Once Erron had caught the bright blush across her cheeks, he fully introduced himself. "The name's Erron, sugar. I used to be your partner's partner, back in the day."

Before Zia could return her introduction, Kabal interrupted. "It was nice seeing you, Erron, but Zia and I have a lot of work to do."

Erron could tell that Kabal was dodging him, and he wasn't about to let that slip away so easy. "Nonsense! You come stay with me… after all, you are guests in Outworld."

Zia could also sense the unholy tension Kabal was emitting and decided to let the men settle it amongst themselves, trusting whatever decision he came to. 

Erron took a few steps closer and tilted the brim of his hat to look Kabal dead in the eyes. "You know The Black Dragon ain't safe here, Kabal. Stop being so goddamn stubborn and come stay with me."

There was no arguing with that logic. Kabal had no doubts that Erron wanted to get him alone and in private to squeeze the mission details out of him too. That cowboy was a slut for a cheap thrill and some money.

The tension was unbearable for Zia. Kabal obviously had a chip on her shoulder and it was starting to fester. Before things could escalate any further, she stepped in. "We appreciate you offering us Asylum, Erron. I know you're risking a lot by doing so."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For as rugged as he was, Erron liked his home to be his luxurious safe haven. The couch looked expensive and divinely comfortable. No doubt he had fallen asleep there many nights watching television. There were various shelves of trophies and even more taxidermy trophies on the wall from his various hunts. 

He only had one spare bedroom and he was very cheeky about sticking them both in it together. Although Erron didn't know that Kabal and Zia were indeed sleeping together, he just assumed. She caught Erron murmur something to Kabal when he was confronted about it along the lines of 'I can tell by the way she looks at you, partner.'

The cowboy was very much an indoor/outdoor cat and as soon as he had gotten Kabal and Zia acclimated, he was gone on Kahn business, tipping his hat. "Make yourselves at home."

Kabal took a seat next to Zia on the couch with a sigh, scrubbing the stress from his face. Zia had turned to face him and sighed back. "Want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Kabal played dumb, but a quick glare from Zia shut that down. "No, sweet cheeks. I'm sorry."

That was a good enough answer for her, she bid him a tender kiss before slipping away to take a shower. 

After a good while, Kabal got up and decided to snoop around in Erron's fridge but didn't have much of an appetite. He was lured into the direction of the bathroom from Zia's gentle singing in the shower but something in Erron's bedroom caught his eye.

Above the cowboy's gargantuan bed, there was a pair of Kabal's hook swords mounted criss cross under a taigore's head. Kabal had given Erron those swords 'for good luck' and even taught him how to use them.

Kabal's heart was heavy and quite bitter but he didn't have time to dwell because the shower had just turned off and Zia had called out. "You know what you want to do about dinner? Or do you think we should wait for Erron?"

Erron had given Kabal the information for the palace servants and told him that they would deliver whatever they wanted, even Earthrealm food. "I doubt Pillow Princess will be back any time soon." Kabal called back, rolling his eyes at the asinine amount of pillows on Erron's bed. "The palace will bring whatever we want though so it's up to you."

Zia emerged from the shower wrapped up in a towel, feeling quite happy after a proper shower. "How about we do pizza and a movie?"

"Just as long as it's not Ninja Mime 4."

~~~~~~~~~

Zia was so perfectly curled up against his chest, sleeping soundly. The pizza and heat from Kabal's body had put her out cold. She moaned softly in her sleep and whispered unintelligibly. Kabal was so focused on trying to decipher what she was whispering, that he didn't even realize the movie had ended. 

Super speed was great for many things and zipping out from under her and collecting her in his arms before her body could even succumb to gravity was one of them. 

Once he had her successfully tucked into bed, he made his way back out into the living room to start another movie only to find that Erron had come home and was munching on their pizza in front of the television. "It ain't quite like Earthrealm's, is it? You remember that pizza place you took me to in New York City?"

Kabal made his way to the fridge and grabbed two beers, handing one off to Erron. "Yeah, we picked up that set of twins and couldn't keep their names straight."

Erron chuckled and clinked his bottle against Kabal's. "I've missed doing this with you, little brother." But Kabal still had a vacant look in his eye, making Erron push further. "You wanna tell me what's going on with you?"

Kabal just shook his head and took another swig of beer.

"Is it because of the burns? I had no idea that had happened until years later, Kabal." Erron was at a loss, standing to dispose of his empty beer bottle.

The swordsman stood up as well to face the cowboy. "The burns, really?" He seethed, standing inches from Erron, rage engulfing him. 

Erron was wide eyed, ignorant to the source of Kabal's anger. "I don't care if you have scars, brother-"

The sickening sound of Kabal's fist connecting with Erron's jaw, rocked Kabal to the core. It sent Erron staggering back, clutching his nose that was now bubbling with blood. "What in the hell, Kabal?!"

"The burns?!" Kabal mocked with rage again. "No, Erron. It's fucking Shang Tsung!"

Erron pulled his hand away from his face, blinking his vision back into focus to see his palm was coated in blood. "What do you mean?"

Kabal continued his enraged mocking. " 'Just go see Shang Tsung, little brother. He struck a helluva deal with me.' " His rage was bubbling down now and his voice cracking. "All I feel like he did was enslave me…"

Now he understood. "You think that bastard doesn't call upon me to this day? I come when he calls like a good dog!"

"At least you got your prize, Erron! Look at me!" Kabal felt small now. His release of anger had left one of his closest friends bleeding and he felt guilty about that.

Erron shared his guilt. There was no way for him to know that Kabal's outcome would have been this. "You were so broken, Kabal. You weren't you and I just thought maybe it would help you go back to who you were…"

He didn't question if Erron was telling the truth. He had always had Kabal's back despite their differences. "I'm sorry, Erron. I'm just so angry."

Erron didn't doubt that the sorcerer had played some trick on Kabal, promising to heal him but only healing his lungs, not fixing his scars. There was no doubt that Shang Tsung made him work like a dog with the tease of fixing his skin but with no real intention of doing it.

The cowboy gestured for Kabal to have a seat while he went and grabbed them another set of beers. "I am sorry I left, Kabal. Some days I wonder if I hadn't maybe things would have been different and you would have never been burned."

Kabal took the beer offered to him, enjoying the cold on his angry fist. "You remember that job we did where we tortured that guy for weeks?"

Erron hissed as he placed the beer to his inflamed jaw. "Pfft, which one?"

"Exactly. We've done some bad shit in our days. It just caught up with me…" Kabal sighed, taking a swig from his beer.

"Bullshit." Erron spat. "I was forced to fight in a war when I was just a boy, been broken and put back together more than I can count and I'm losing track of the years I've been alive. That karma shit ain't real, Kabal. Sometimes shit just happens. That's all. Nothing more."

Kabal snickered, finally grinning at his friend. "You gonna lecture me now on how 'god ain't real'."

Erron smiled back, ruffling up Kabal's hair. "When you die, the only kingdom you see is two foot wide and six foot deep, little brother."


	8. Chapter 8

"What the hell happened to you two?" Zia questioned the two men who were eating breakfast, looking worse for wear.

They both looked like a deer in the headlights with big mouthfuls of cereal. Kabal's right hand was looking red and swollen like the left side of Erron's face. Luckily, the cowboy was first to swallow and snitch. "Kabal punched me." He blurted, pointing to his assailant.

Zia was not amused. "Seriously? How old are you both?" The two were equally aware that they were acting like man babies and didn't respond. "You're lucky you're both too big for me to put over my knee." She added as she sat down at the table to grab a bowl for herself. 

"I'm not." Erron blurted out again, trying to strike a rise from Kabal, which worked and earned him a punch in the shoulder.

The idea of turning them both into mice was tempting but she did find a little bit of amusement out of their banter, so she decided against it. Instead, she smiled and enjoyed her cereal.

"So, Erron knows about our mission and gave me some leads." Kabal said through a mouthful of food. "He thinks we should either try some abandoned Kytinn hives, or another mountain through Tarkatan territory."

"Heard some of the locals jabberin' about a monster up in those parts and it sounds an awful lot like a dragon." Erron added before putting his bowl away and heading for the door. "Enjoy the place. I'll be back after dark."

Zia turned her attention back to Kabal. "Which one do you want to check out first?"

"The mountains." Kabal responded, not wasting any time. "I don't want to be around giant bugs if I don't have to."

"Oh, that's right." Zia smiled with a roll of her eyes. "Baby is afraid of bugs."

"Giant, man-eating bugs, Lucrezia. Baby is afraid of giant, man-eating bugs." Kabal corrected, childish fear in his eyes.

Despite the scars, Kabal had a sweet face and it made Zia decide to stop teasing him. "I take it you and Erron were close."

It wasn't a secret that Kabal was a total emotional rollercoaster ever since they arrived in Z'unkahrah. "Yeah, I lost my big brother at a young age and Erron… filled that void, I guess."

The heartbroken look in Kabal's eyes made Zia melt. "You want to stay for a few days? We aren't in any rush."

"The Black Dragon ain't welcome in Outworld." Kabal said curtly. "It's too much of a risk for Erron and-"

"Okay, baby." She soothed. "Whatever you decide, I'll follow." Kabal was quick to anger and emotional as fuck. Sometimes all they could do is take it one day at a time. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

The relationship Kabal had with Zia was… different. It was like they skipped the honeymoon and just went into peaceful bliss. It was casual and comfortable while they still learned and grew. It was exactly what he needed.

Kabal had decided that they would leave tomorrow, it was just better to rip off the band-aid. For now, they were curled up on the couch watching a movie. Well, Kabal was watching a movie and Zia was planning out their route for tomorrow. "If you would like, I can make you a matching amulet like the one you have for me, but for Erron. That way you two can communicate, feel each other and teleport to one another if you choose." 

Gods, she could be so sweet. 

He placed a kiss to her forehead with a grin. "I'd love that, baby." But as he watched her go to the spare bedroom to gather her tools, insecurity reared its ugly head. When she came back with her supplies in hand and started to work, he asked sheepishly. "Those… amulets. Do they play a role in our connection…?"

She fell into a fit of giggles. "You mean, 'did the witch put a love spell on me?'" But to her disapproval, he was serious in his question. "No, Kabal. They don't work that way. They're just like a magical cell phone, but better."

That answer washed a wave of relief over him. "For the record. I didn't think you hexed me. I was just worried that maybe it made you... feel for me."

"No." She stopped his train of thought in it's tracks. "I'm just a sucker for boys with long hair."

He couldn't help but laugh. She was so… different and he loved it. He never was prepared for what she might say. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A heavy boot punching the front door open had jolted the couple out of the gentle trance they were in, Zia in carving runes into her amulet and Kabal in his movie. "Howdy, bitches! Y'all ready for strip poker night?!"

Kabal rolled his eyes at the sight of Erron stomping into the house with a following of palace servants. They were toting alcohol and various snacks while Erron was blood splattered and clearly high off the hunt. "I see your bloodthirst rage hasn't softened with age, Black."

The cowboy removed his glove and dragged his fingers through the blood on his face, licking his fingers clean. "Ain't nothing soft here, partner. I see kinkshaming is still your kink."

Being the bigger person went out the window when Kabal heard Zia snort a giggle at Erron's tease. "Fine. I'll clean your clock and wallet, Black! Go take a shower first, there's a lady present."

"Mmmmm." The cowboy purred hungrily, eyeing Zia from head to toe. "There is a lady present. Wanna come scrub my back, darlin'?"

"Tempting, Mr. Black, soooo tempting but I'm going to get the table set." Zia smiled while she thanked the servants for their assistance and then dismissed them.

Since he missed his shot with Zia, Erron opted for harassing Kabal more. He started by tweaking Kabal's nose. "Looks like it's a job up to you, sweetheart."

Jesus Christ, Erron knew just how to get under Kabal's skin. "Erron, get in that fucking shower before I leave a bootprint on your ass!"

"You ain't even wearing boots!"

Lucrezia often wondered what it would be like if she had children, the brief time she spent with Kabal and Erron in the same room together answered that question in plentiful detail. Silently, she took Erron by the hand and led him to the bathroom. She wasn't sure if she would be able to, since the two men were locked in such intense eye contact but it seemed to melt when her skin touched his. 

The rushing sound of the water turning on was followed by Erron gently singing one of his go-to romantic country songs. "Come a little closer, baby. I feel like layin' you down."

Then the tinkle of buckles coming undone.

"On a bed of sweet surrender, where we can work it all out."

A long pause, that made Kabal's stomach flip.

Then Zia came out of the bathroom, looking rather mischievous. "I think he misses showering with you."

Kabal rolled his eyes again, Black's silver tongued personality had permeated his woman. "We never- aw, Hell! Don't let that cowboy stripper pollute your mind, Lucrezia!"

"How come you never sing to me?" She pouted as she started to assemble their snacks on the table.

"How come you never sing to me?" He parroted. "That shit works both ways, sweet cheeks!"

Lord have mercy, Kabal really was too easy to rile up sometimes. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first few hands went wonderfully and the winning and losing was pretty even all around, which left them all topless at the table.

Kabal couldn't remember the last time he laughed so much. "Tell me, Erron. What did Laura Ingalls' pussy taste like."

"God damn it, Kabal! For the last time, I didn't fuck Laura Ingalls'!" The cowboy snorted in-between chewing on some salted peanuts. "Besides, her daddy would have never let her step out with a fella like me…"

The corners of the swordsman's lips curled up into a devious grin at Erron's subtle confirmation that he tried. It was no secret amongst the two that women were loved by both and they often found themselves competing for the same one. "Remember that time I had to bail your naked ass out with that blonde and her angry husband?"

Erron rolled his eyes as he dealt the next hand of cards. "How was I supposed to know he just got out of prison a few hours before?!"

"It was worth it to see you running for your life with nothing but your cowboy boots on." Kabal snickered, checking his hand. 

"My cock is the most beautiful thing you'll ever see, partner. Don't ever forget that."

Zia felt a blush creep up on her cheeks when the cowboy winked at her whilst talking about his cock. "Erron, do you miss Earthrealm?"

"I want to." He sighed as he went all in. "But it ain't as 'free' as it used to be"

How true that was… A heavy sigh escaped Zia's lips as she also went all in and Kabal folded. 

"Shit…"

"Pants off, sugar." Erron winked as he took all her chips. 

It was Kabal's turn to deal and a question was itching him. "So, Erron. What was your deal with Shang Tsung?"

Erron shot Kabal a look that let him know that what he was about to say needed to be confidential. "He wanted me to assassinate JFK."

Zia and Kabal both thought he was bullshitting but the grin on his face said otherwise. "But why?"

"To have fun at Earthrealm's expense, I suppose. Just an evil sorcerer having his kicks. I got a hell of a thrill out of it too, so I saw it as a win/win." The trio was down to their underwear now with the exception of Kabal who still had his socks on. "You still got them tender women feet I see, Kabal."

Kabal was not amused. "I get cold easy, Black!"

"Remember that time we got stranded in the Lin Kuei mountains? Your body heat probably was the only thing that kept me from freezin' to death." Erron went all in, again.

The swordsman smirked at Zia. "You shoulda seen him, babe. He was clinging to me like a monkey, teeth chattering and still found the energy to bitch."

"And then Kano rescued us, found us almost frozen together. The blast from that cybernetic eye was the only thing that could have separated us, that's how frozen we were!"

"Oh my God, and the whole ride back to HQ he was lecturing us about what kind of fuck ups we were." This time Zia folded and Kabal went all in to find himself victorious. "As much as I love the memory of you with nothing but cowboy boots on. They gotta go, Black."

"Since you just looooove to talk about my stories. Let's talk about yours, shall we." Erron smirked as he laid down the cards for everyone, dealing a new hand. "Remember that time Kano caught you balls deep fucking his favorite stripper on his desk? And he chased you around HQ bare ass naked and made you cage fight Skarlet… bare ass naked?"

"And then he fucked my favorite stripper on my desk and it was so filthy after that I had to burn it." Kabal added, his cheeks bright pink.

The average woman would be jealous hearing of her new 'boyfriend's' sexual escapades but in reality, she felt so warm and fuzzy by the brotherly bond the two had. Stories of the good old days made her heart happy. She was always a loner and an outkast, never knowing the feeling of the bond that the two men shared with anyone else. She was an only child, never made in depth friendships, just a general lone wolf. 

That was, until Kabal came in the picture. 

As the two men sat there, grinning from ear to ear and swapping stories. Zia took in the shirtless muscle show before her and noticed both men wore something dear to them around their necks. Kabal had his dragon fang necklace adorned with the amulets she made and Erron had a silver locket, now adorned with an amulet to connect him to Kabal. 

"Erron?"

"Hmmm?"

"Promise me that we won't lose touch again."

Just as when they first met, Erron ruffled Kabal's hair with a grin and jingled his new amulet. "I promise, little brother."


	9. Chapter 9

Goodbyes are never easy… never. 

Kabal overcame, though. With gritted teeth and determination, he made it through. Their Feroxes were happy to be back on the road again. Zia was able to teleport them to a village at the mountain base and they slipped out undetected by Tarkatans by the skin of their teeth. 

The next following week was spent climbing in the frozen wasteland again, searching for the mountain peak. 

Unfortunately, Kabal found it. He ended up falling through ice and falling even further into the abyss. While he was falling, Zia held her breath, only releasing when she finally heard the stomach turning thud and Kabal's scream on the impact. 

Scrambling frantically, Zia descended with Boone and Roxy, following the sounds of his screams until she finally was standing in front of the fresh horror. He was impaled on various stalagmites of ice, his right foot, left thigh and hip, right shoulder and hand, and most gruesome of all was the left side of his neck had also been impaled. 

Panic was setting in, in both of them. Zia gently shushed his pained grunts and screams. "Shhhh, baby. You need to relax or you will bleed out."

Bleed out? Shit! He has the metabolism and heart of a hummingbird. Time is dangerously short. 

Quickly, she started to melt the ice impaling his body, the gentle melting didn't stop the pain of the forgein bodies leaving his and he screamed again, this time gutteral and earth shattering.

Unfortunately, it did just that.

Deadly tinkles of ice rattling above them made her heart stop, just in time for a giant icle to fall from above and impale Kabal right where his belly button was.

Her mind was in overdrive, sweating from fear as full blown panic overtook her. She couldn't even hear his screams due to her blood pounding in her temples as she removed the icicle and took one of his hook swords in hand. "Put me down!" Kabal cried. "Put me out of my fucking misery, Lucrezia!"

She needed every fiber of energy in her in order to save him. Quickly she cut off his shirt and coat, exposing his bloody and scarred flesh. Next was her shirt and coat, she needed skin on skin contact in order to heal wounds of such magnitude. 

"Wrap your arms around me, baby." She whispered to him as she did the same to him, gritting her teeth as Kabal grunted back a scream to move his broken limbs to do as she asked. 

That was nothing compared to the screams to come… her healing magic was crude at best. Kabal felt everything as she mended the broken bones, torn muscle, and ripped skin. It was like having them broken, torn and ripped all over again… but slowly. 

Thankfully, she stuffed a part of his shirt in his mouth for him to bite and scream into. Hot tears dripped off her skin to his as she whispered 'I'm so sorry' over and over again. She held him and rocked him, cooing softly as she could until he finally went silent and slack. 

He was in the clear… 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Boone and Roxy were a godsend. Zia had exhausted herself and passed out on top of Kabal who was also passed out. Instinctively the beasts knew enough to cuddle up to the bare skinned couple and keep them warm enough until they recovered. 

Kabal was first to wake. His gentle stirring rousing Zia to consciousness. Their eyes meeting blankly before he croaked. "I had one hell of a dream-" One quick glance at the scar on his hand and the one on his foot shadowing in the back shut him down. "Shit. Now I know how jesus felt pinned up on that cross."

Zia felt equally shitty as she peeled herself from Kabal, their skin fused together with dry blood acting like glue. Her unconscious spell allowed her to regain enough energy to make a camp for them. Warmth, a bed and a hot tub to soak the ordeal off them both was all that was on her mind.

She didn't speak, she just stripped and made a her way to the tub. Kabal was right behind her, sighing with her as soon as the hot water touched his skin, now with fresh scars. 

He gathered her in his arms, his concern for her growing. "I'm sorry if I scared you…"

She blinked, blindsided. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Kabal."

"Then why do you look so distraught?"

Zia debated brushing it off, but the pit in her stomach was far too deep to ignore. "I almost wasn't strong enough to save you."

Instinct pushed Kabal to instantly correct her but then he thought of all the times he felt like he wasn't strong enough and what he wished he had in that moment. He curled his index finger and tilted her chin towards his so he could capture her in a kiss that would let her know that she was enough. "Just because you don't have downy wings, doesn't mean you aren't my angel, Lucrezia. I owe you my life."

"I don't want us to owe each other anything, Kabal. Ever."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I want to put it out there before anyone jumps down my throat for the road I'm going to take this on. I struggle with an eating disorder that dictates my life along with BDD and this fic is just a way for me to put how it makes me feel into words, I suppose.  
> Mortal Kombat made an amazing choice with the Hourglass and timelines because it gives us and them as writers the freedom to do whatever they want. Your timeline is yours and it can be cannon if you want it to be. I'm on the unpopular side that loves a good villain.  
> Anywho, I hope this feels as healing to you as it does me.

They had no idea how long they had laid in bed for. Zia was infatuated with tracing the outlines of his new scars with her fingertips. Despite his kind words, he could tell that she was still upset with herself and he gave her all the time she needed with his body.

Eventually, she decided it was time to move on and explore the cavern they fell into. Fate was something Erron had lectured Kabal about being complete bullshit but today he felt like the sage gunslinger's advice was wrong. 

Anxiety was running high for the swordsman, the fear of another fall was looming over his head. He assumed that the deeper they adventured into the cave, the more it would dissolve but after several hours it hadn't. 

Zia eyed her partner, picking up on his uncomfortable gait. "You feel that too? I can't really put my finger on it but I feel it."

They strode side by side, not able to see very far, only a few feet in front of them. That was, until a figure came into fuzzy view before them. Kabal took a defensive stance with his swords but Zia gently touched his arm. "I don't think we will need those. Something feels different."

Their approach was slow, their steps were ginger as they took their time, impatience itching at both of their minds.

It took a few blinks for them to realize that there was in fact, a sleeping dragon curled up in front of them. They had never discussed their plan if they actually did find a dragon. In all honesty, neither of them thought they really would and now that the moment had arrived, they were like deer in the headlights.

Now was not the time for the discussion.

Green serpent's eyes were staring at them both, the massive beast was studying them, passive but aware. 

Zia held up a hand to let Kabal know that it was okay and for him to stay put. She took a deep breath before advancing to face the collosal reptile. From what she had read, dragons were sentient and all knowing. Now was as good a time as ever to put that theory to the test. 

Fear prickled in her pulse as she raised a shaky hand and placed it on the beast's snout. It had wispy tendrils on its snout similar to a koi fish and in return to her touch, it raised one and connected it to her forehead. "You're the first human to not greet me with violence."

Their connection was telepathic and she could feel the dragon was quite weak. "You're wounded." The beast didn't speak, but slowly blinked it's confirmation. It hurt Zia to see such a rare and magnificent being in such bad shape. "You're gravely wounded…"

"Outworlders only know how to conquer and kill. It's been so long since I've seen another of my kind…"

But she was also sent to conquer and kill. Tears stung the back of her eyes as inner conflict took over. 

"You never intended to complete your mission, even if you had found us."

"No." She whimpered, trying to hide her sob from Kabal. He was completely ignorant to what was going on since the woman and dragon were communicating telepathically.

"You were going to take the spoils for yourself."

"Yes…"

"What is your plan, little girl? You can't possibly incubate and raise the clutch of eggs I'm sitting on. Your mate doesn't seem like he will let you disobey your employer either."

The dragon was right. God damn it! She was right. "I… don't know, I didn't think I'd get this far." 

"You let your mate cloud your judgement. Does he even know you've been lying to him this whole time? How badly do you think it will hurt him to discover that?"

Kabal impatiently interrupted. "Hey! Is it gonna come willingly or...?"

Zia turned on her heel to find Kabal holding a collar and tapping his foot impatiently. "What the hell is that?

"Dunno, Kano gave it to me to put on it when we found it. I don't really question him. Just do as I'm told like a good dog." It was obvious he was bitter at Kano and even more excited to get out of this frozen hellscape. 

"Kabal… I can't let you do that…"

He blinked at her, she was now standing like a brick wall in-between him and the dragon. "It's our job, Lucrezia."

Hot tears were streaming down her face now when she saw him hold his swords in an offensive position… toward her. "If we do that, they go extinct."

In all reality, he didn't give a fuck about dragons, he just wanted the job done. The only ounce of compassion he had was because the lizard was obviously important to her. 

She saw him grit his teeth and teeter back and forth in his mind, so she opted to speak first. "You were right Kabal, I was hiding things from you… but it wasn't personal. I hide from everyone."

Anger was bubbling up now, slowly clouding his affection for her. "Keep talking."

"I don't have time!" She cried, desperate tears cascading down her face. "But I will cut you a deal if you help me."

His trust was shattered like the ice that almost killed him, but regardless of her protests, he did owe her for saving his life. "Fine. Tell me what you need."

She released a shaky breath when she saw him holster his swords. "Reach out to Erron, ask him if he knows of any place that's isolated and large enough to accommodate a dragon and then some." 

He grunted an 'mhm' in her general direction as he engaged with his amulet. "Hey, Erron. Zia wants to know if you have 'any place that's isolated and large enough to accommodate a dragon and then some.'"

The gunslinger went silent for a while, then he was heard laughing out loud. "I do, actually. I got a secret place I hide all my gold and unmentionables."

"Ask Erron if he can teleport there." Zia pleaded.

"I highly doubt the man can just teleport to his super top secret cowboy hideout, Lucrezia." Kabal hissed, his anger brewing.

Erron sighed. "Actually, speedy in the time it took you to quit bitchin' I did teleport there. Seriously, Kabal. You think I don't have a way to get to my damn money in the blink of an eye? What kind of man do ya take me for?!"

There was no time to waste bickering. "Kabal, teleport to Erron please. I'll be right behind you."

The complete lack of trust clouded Kabal's scowl and broke Zia's heart. Her stomach felt like a bottomless pit of despair and she hated herself so much in that moment. "Take Boone and Roxy, please. I promise I will fix this… just please."

If she hadn't saved his life more than once, he would have just collared her and taken her in to Kano instead. Why were women such manipulative and selfish creatures?

Why did he let this one play him for a fool? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That succubus had the fucking nerve to send him on an errand. 'I'm tapped out from teleporting such a creature.' She said. 'I need my remaining strength to keep up the invisibility ward.' She said. 'Just go into the super disgusting and scary Kytinn hives and get me as much crystal as you can carry.' She said.

"There a snake in your boot, partner?" Erron probed, gently searching while still prodding Kabal's irritation. 

Kabal picked up the first crystal they had found this far and stuffed it into a bag. "She's fucking lying to me!"

The cowboy rolled his eyes as he flipped over a stone, seeing what was under it. "All women do that, son. Hell, all people do that." He hummed his approval when he finally uncovered the crystal he was looking for. "Shit, I lied to you just an hour ago. I called you gorgeous when in reality with that fuckin scowl on your face you look like a freshly castrated bull."

"She was supposed to be fucking different, Erron." Kabal groused, the same look still plastered on his face.

"No she ain't. She's human." Erron followed his defensive stance with a slap behind Kabal's head intended to knock some sense into him. "I've been with many an evil woman in my day, and spoiler alert, she ain't it." 

Kabal was about to hiss another argument but Erron grabbed him by the jaw and forced him to make eye contact. "And she ain't fuckin Sareena, Kabal."

Heartbroken horror filled Kabal's eyes. "You heard about that?"

"Skarlet uses me as a juice box from time to time and she slithers around the Netherrealm. I heard the version Sareena told her but judgin' by your attitude she wasn't exaggeratin'." Erron had softened his demeanor now, placing a caring hand on Kabal's shoulder. "I'm sorry about the baby. I know how much you want a family."

Raw was an understatement of how he felt right now. He felt small, broken, pathetic and used. "What should I do?"

Erron had discovered another crystal and gently booped Kabal on the nose with it. "Not be angry for once. Don't punish her for Sareena and just talk to her, goddamn it!"


	11. Chapter 11

The next day was full of anxiety on both parts. Zia worked continuously without sleep until she had successfully made enough crystals to hold up the ward and protect them, so she would be able to focus her magic on healing the mother dragon which would allow her to raise her clutch of eggs. 

Kabal on the other hand hated the slow process of waiting. His time was spent going out hunting for game and making sure Erron's hideout was up to snuff. 

With Erron returned to work, the property was filled with awkward silence while Zia worked herself ragged and Kabal was waiting on his answers. 

Finally, the door to the hideout opened and Zia emerged. She felt haggard and exhausted but ready. 

Kabal's ears perked up when he heard her footfalls approach the bedroom. He was freshly showered and sitting on the foot of the bed in nothing but his briefs, fondling the collar Kano had given him when his eyes locked with hers. 

Funny enough, she still had no idea what to say to him. So, instead, she opted to just show him. In the time it took him to blink, she allowed him to see her in her real form.

Her scarred form.

He was silent as she stripped, slowly revealing more and more of traumatized flesh. "They say that dragons can be used to heal. I knew The Black Dragon would be able to get me the best leads as well as funds to find them and I was right." 

Silence remained until she was fully naked and he was able to take in the full scope of what her body had been through. To his surprise, he didn't care about anything except knowing more about her scars. "You know my story… tell me yours."

"Pick one to start."

There were so many to choose from but he opted to start with the one that had his interest the most when he first saw them. Gently, he took her hand and rubbed small circles over the jagged scar that circled her wrist. 

"I was tied to a bed, spread eagle, with razor wire."

Well, that would explain why her ankles looked the same. He morbidly wished that it would have been from a suicide attempt as he originally suspected because the real reason was just so horrific. 

His fingers skated up to her collarbone where the number 227 was carved into her flesh. They traced the numbers delicately, taking in just how deep they were carved.

"My auction number when I was up for sale."

Next was the acid burn that spanned from her breast up to her jaw. 

"Shang Tsung was the one who bought me and I got too close to an experiment gone wrong in the Flesh Pits."

The butterfly soft touch of his fingers now we're on the crescent shape carved on her cheek. 

"Ladies need to smile more."

His finger's final destination was her hair. It had bleached white as fresh driven snow along with her eyes going completely cloudy. Despite the milkiness of them, he could tell that they were zeroed in on his own when she spoke. "I gave some of my life force to save yours when you fell through that ice, Kabal."

That was it. That was all he needed to know. All was forgiven. Both of his hands reached out to cup her face, pulling her in to finally kiss her again. A hot tear slid down her cheek when their lips finally connected after going for what seemed like an eternity of not touching one another.

She felt as delicate as glass under his touch, despite how hungry she was to claim all the lost affection she had missed. Her gentle whimpers celebrated finally being in his good graces again and he could feel her knees go weak. "Come here, baby." He whispered in between their kisses, pulling her into his lap and enveloping her in his rock solid embrace of muscle. "I've got you."

Zia wanted to beg him to never let her go. To beg for his forgiveness and express just how sorry she was. He gave her a feeling of normalcy and belonging that she never should have betrayed. "I'm so sorry, Kabal." She sniffled.

If he were in her shoes. He probably would have done the same or even worse. Guilt was hot on his cheeks, though. He had been so angry and cold toward her and she didn't even deserve it. He needed her forgiveness just as much as she needed his. "Shhhh." He cooed, trailing gentle kisses along her scarred jaw to her ear. "We don't owe each other anything. We are okay."

"You promise?" She murmured, keening into his touch as his hot, opened mouthed kisses started to trail down her throat.

Actions spoke louder than words in this moment, so Kabal removed his dragon fang necklace and placed it around Zia's neck. Gentle fingers splayed over the fang, holding it firm to her sternum while his other hand supported her lower back for balance. 

His gesture of promise made her heart flutter and let her know that things would mend. Her mind had been in such a foggy haze that she didn't even notice that Kabal's straining erection was practically screaming to be touched, until she relaxed and sat her bare sex right on it.

"Sorry." He blushed. "I don't mean to be a dog. You're just so-"

A scorching kiss was all he needed to be silenced. She was over the moon that he still had a fierce attraction to her. "Let me take care of you." She whispered against his lips as her hands slithered down to the waistband of his underwear. 

There was a pause when her fingers touched the band, until Kabal finally swallowed and nodded his approval. Her movements were slow and predictable to ease him into her touch and when she finally grasped his throbbing erection, he bit his lip to stifle a gasp. "Lay back for me, baby." She whispered in his ear, gently nipping at his lobe and dragging her tongue along his jaw. 

With no resistance in his obedience, Kabal scooted back a bit and propped himself up on some pillows. In turn that gave Zia the opportunity to remove his shorts. Her fingers gripped the waistband and slowly dragged them down his hips and thighs, all the way down to the floor. 

His cock was pulsing and weeping from the head, looking absolutely neglected. Zia sank to her knees and nestled herself in-between his legs, her breath hot on his skin. Her tongue was searing when it made contact with the base of his cock and licked a wet stripe up to the head to finally taste his liquid prize for her. 

Zia had her eyes closed when she started to gently suckle on the head, but she could feel Kabal's eyes and head roll back when he moaned at the contact. She took her time running her hot tongue all over it, lapping up all of his excitement before sinking it deep into her throat. 

In return she earned herself another moan from him as he picked himself back up to entangle his fingers in her hair. For a moment, he debated telling her how gorgeous she looked taking his cock. But then he thought about how much he hated to be called handsome with his scars and wanted to pay her the same courtesy.

She seemed to be in a blissful trance with her bobbing and sucking. Her eyes were closed and her tongue hit every nerve in his cock, making his hips shudder each time she sank down and pulled out. It was making him nervous that he may finish too soon. 

Taking a gentle grip on her hair, he held her from going back down on his cock. "Easy, baby. I don't wanna finish just yet, despite how fucking good you are at that."

She grinned and held his cock flush against his belly, thumb rubbing slow circles on the sensitive underside of his head. Her tongue turning it's attention to his too full balls. Kabal groaned a loud curse when she sucked the first one into her mouth and set his skin alight with her tongue.

The swordsman couldn't remember the last time his cock was worshipped like this and it was even more heavenly than he remembered. Zia was sucking on all the right spots and her little hums of gratitude just added to the knot in his belly. 

Sex was normally so filthy for him, just a chore of a release but this time, especially this time. It was the most he had felt since trying for a baby with Sareena. 

Now, here he was, having his cock and balls worshipped by a trophy of a woman and he was actually feeling something beyond physical.

Again, he found himself teetering on the edge and having to gently pull her off his balls. The whine she made at the lost contact was enough to melt his heart and made him bend down to reward her with a kiss. "I love the way you taste." She whispered against his skin.

"Likewise." Kabal grinned, pulling her back up on the bed and in his lap again. With the way he sat her, his cock head was rudely poking at her slick entrance. "Wow, that wet already?"

Another impatient whine rumbled from her and she took his cock in hand to line it up along her folds, slicking it with her essence. Her milky eyes locked on his when she sunk her weight down on the thick member.

Kabal bit her lip gently as she sank down, her tight channel fluttering to adjust to his size. "I guess I am a special boy." He grinned again, taking her nipple into his mouth to earn himself a squeal. "And you are quite the wet little girl, aren't you?"

Her patience was dwindling, she moved to start bouncing on his cock, but Kabal's arms held her in a steel band so she couldn't move. Heavens, there was that fucking whine again. That whine that let him know she needed him in the most primal way.

It was time to stop toying with her and properly claim her as his.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to beg, Kabal flipped them over, still hilted inside of her. She was flat on her back now and her thighs had a fierce grip on his hips that were now slowly building a pace. "Is this what you want, baby?" The question more of a taunt to hear that fucking whine again.

But she didn't give it to him, she just gasped sharply each time the crown of his cock stroked her sweet spot. So, he decided to pick up the pace, snapping his hips against hers while his hand gently cradled her jaw by the throat, making her look at him. "Or is this what you want, baby? To be mine?"

She answered him with the whine he wanted to hear, followed by her nails digging into his shoulders and a string of more cries. A few more rough thrusts later and she was trembling, her orgasm ripping through her body.

"That's my girl." He hummed, picking her back up into his arms so he was sitting on the bed and her still sheathed in his lap. His hips rocked gentle strokes that worked her down and still stroked his fire until she stopped trembling. 

Her lips met his when he started to rut again. His raw muscle bouncing her on top of his cock and her body weight squeezing him in the most blissful way. His breath was so hot against her skin and just how good she felt inside and out was blissfully overwhelming. 

A coil was winding up in his loins, the way she whined for him and the way she clung to his shoulders just set his insides on fire. She held him like she actually didn't want to lose his touch, actually cried out for him, actually fucking needed him. It was too much.

"I'm gonna cum for you, baby." Kabal ground out, revelling in the lewd squishy noises her pussy made each time he thrust into it. "You gonna take my cum?"

To his surprise, she said the sweet words he wanted to hear. "Please! I need it!"

A need for his cum? She was the one. 

His fingers dug deep into her hip while his other hand still supported her bouncing into his thrusts. His lips were desperate to capture hers again, so he could taste the sounds she made as he filled her. 

The ferocity that his orgasm accompanied made her squeak and bite down on his lip before gently humming her approval while more and more hot spurts flooded her. Kabal's whole body studdered each time her walls milked him, her lips lapping up his grunts and hisses.

They held still in that position for several heartbeats until he softened and fell out of her along with his hot seed. Once that happened, he laid back on the bed with her still clinging to his chest "So, what now?"

"If we can save the mother dragon and help her raise her babies. I may be able to rid us of our scars… then I could focus more of my energy on something else instead of making my appearance an illusion and you could go back to the man you were." Zia sighed and draped her thigh over his to absorb some of his heat and let more of his cum flow out of her. "That is if you want."

"What about Kano?" He blurted out and instantly regretted it. The first time he had made love since Sareena and the burns and he's talking about fucking Kano. "Sorry-"

"We aren't on a deadline." She interrupted, patting his chest to let him know it was okay. "Let's just focus on ourselves, baby. No one is gonna look out for us, except us."

She was right, there was no denying it. Now was his time to learn to enjoy things again, to evolve and especially to heal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friendly reminder to those who are angry about the idea of 'healing' him. As someone who has lived through horror and trauma, I'd give anything to go back to who I was and 'heal'


	12. Chapter 12

For a change, it was Kabal who was awake first. Zia had rolled over to her side and was clutching a book to her chest, no doubt she had fallen asleep reading again. She looked the most peaceful he had ever seen her, the weight of her secrets now off her shoulders. 

Because her back was to him, he was able to see the very old scars from a whip on her back and it made him wonder just how old she was. 

The sun was seeping into the bedroom and slowly warming up her skin, making her stir. She rolled back over to Kabal and draped an arm over his belly. "It's rude to stare." She groaned, still half asleep.

"Sorry." He whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "What's your plan for today?"

"Well, I've got Aela stable-"

"Aela?" He interrupted, confused.

Zia huffed, she was always cranky in the mornings. "Yes, Kabal. Dragons have names, they're sentient creatures, she introduced herself." She waited for him to grunt his understanding so she could continue. "I've got her stable… but I'm going to need sacrifices to save her."

Snark ran through his veins this morning. "I'm too pretty to die."

"Not you, you boob!" She hissed, pinching his side roughly. "I'm thinking we will need some of the Tarkatans… 'cattle'."

Human sacrifices? The idea left an odd taste in his mouth. "Why?"

"You know how I gave some of my life to save yours? Well, all of mine and yours combined wouldn't be enough to save hers." She was speaking softly now, her eyes fully open and her fingers gently rubbing where she pinched him.

Her tenderness was short lived. "We could throw Erron in there too." Kabal said bluntly, snickering at his own joke.

Zia could play that game, though. "No… I'd miss him."

_ That _ got under his skin. "Alright, don't you have some work to attend to or something?"

Victory grins were best worn in the morning, after all.

  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  


"How am I supposed to convince the Tarkatans to let me buy some of their 'livestock' when I'm the same thing they eat! Not to mention they hate The Black Dragon!"

" _ You are asking the wrong dragon, my dear. Who do you think did this to me?" _

Zia was sitting in front of the dragon who was laying on her clutch of eggs, at a complete loss for what to do. "It's the only thing I can think of to do for you…"

_ "Then let me go, Lucrezia." _

No way she would give up her opportunity to have her own skin back. No way she would give up an opportunity to befriend a dragon with a plethora of knowledge about magic either. No fucking way!

If only it would be easy. Sacrifice a couple lambs and lay down some salt, but lamb souls would never be big enough to heal a dragon. "Tell me what to do…  _ please." _

Although dragons were sage, there was a difference between answers and solutions. Zia needed a solution.

  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  


Kabal had returned from his hunt. Turns out, dragons needed a lot of meat and wounded ones needed even more meat. He dragged the great taigore carcass over to the even greater beast on his hook swords, releasing it with a huff in front of her face.

Aela found Kabal to be… tolerable at best and blew a plume of smoke as a thank you before he dismissed himself.

Where was Zia? Kabal wondered as he searched through the house, turning up nothing. The amulet he wore still had a connection to her that had not wavered, so he decided it was time to take a shower and wait.

Most people spent their time in the shower thinking, but Kabal spent it with an empty mind, just enjoying the feeling of the warm water on his skin. That was until he heard the hideout door open. "Baby! Wanna come scrub my back?"

He snickered as he heard the footfalls approach and open the bathroom door, bracing himself for her feminine touch. Instead, he was greeted with a sharp pinch to an old bullet hole scar on his behind. 

"I see you still holler just like the day I gave you that hole!" The cowboy guffawed as he took a seat on the bathroom sink counter.

The memory of a very young and  _ very _ hot headed Kabal talking shit to an equally hot headed cowboy to end up getting himself shot in the ass was still extremely fresh in his mind. "Gonna have Kano hold me down while you dig the bullet back out with his bowie knife, again?"

The roar of a laugh could be felt by Kabal from behind the shower curtain when the cowboy spoke. "That was a fun night, wasn't it?" 

Stepping out of the shower, Kabal quickly wrapped up in a towel and gave Erron his classic scowl before stepping out of the bathroom. "Please tell me you brought dinner."

"Yes, princess! I brought dinner!" Erron called after him, taking a seat at the table lined with food. "Get daddy a beer while you're up." 

Kabal let out a hiss as he searched for some pants to put on, silently cursing Erron. Once he was finally decent, he made his for the fridge. After all, a beer did sound nice. He slammed it down rather loudly in front of a smiling Erron and took his seat. "So, you still let Skarlet syphon you, what about Nitara?"

Erron laughed again as he took his first swig of beer. "I burned that bridge, partner."

"Let's hear it!" Kabal demanded, finally digging into his meal.

"I was paid to punish her for giving blood magik to Havik by Kotal."

"How much?"

It was quite clear Kabal wasn't going to be satisfied until he squeezed out all the details from Erron. "Lord, you're just like a woman!" The cowboy hissed again, just trying to enjoy his meal. "You know that I abducted Cassie Cage and Jacqui Briggs, ended up getting scorched by Raiden's lightning. Well, Kotal healed me and in exchange I had to punish Nitara."

Kabal was pretty enthralled in Erron's story, he was chewing slow and his eyes were wide. "I can't believe Kotal let you off so easy. Your stupid ass almost caused an interrealm war."

It was absolutely no secret that Erron Black didn't give a fuck if he had. Ultimately, his folly was thinking that Kano was the better deal in the moment than Kotal. Lesson learned. " _ Anyway _ . Her little black heart just fluttered when she saw me after all those years and wasted no time welcoming me back into bed. Played around for a little bit with her, had some fun. Then I put her to sleep and I took her wings back to Kotal."

"You're getting fuckin' soft in your old age. I can't believe you showed the mercy to knock her out before cutting them off." Kabal teased, finishing his beer and getting up for another.

Silence followed. Kabal was right. Every time he passed by the wings mounted up in Kotal's trophy hall there was a slight twinge of guilt inside of him. The outdoor cat was becoming more of a fat cat and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. "You should come work for the Kahn with me. I think you'd be happy over here… you're softening too, Kabal."

That was something Kabal couldn't argue, on all counts but he had a debt to pay. He opened his mouth to speak but a great pain struck into his gut. Gripping the table for a brace, Kabal gritted his teeth until the feeling passed and left him feeling horribly empty. 

Erron perked up at how Kabal was acting and cocked a brow, noticing how bright one of the amulets on his chest was flickering before it died out. "Kabal?"

Their eyes locked and Kabal hissed again. "I can't feel Lucrezia anymore."


	13. Chapter 13

"Oh my good Boone! What am I gonna do?" Kabal heard Zia's pathetic cries through the door when he finally teleported back to base. "Ugh, why am I asking you? You're a man, men don't understand the stress of raising children. Where is Roxy?"

Kabal's ears perked up at the mention of children. It would be too soon for her to be pregnant, right?

The merc opened the door and stepped out into the Outworld sun to find Zia desperately trying to wrangle seven baby dragons. The babies were rambunctious and as soon as she got one settled down another one started up again. They were small, about the size of a lap dog and eager to play.

Zia was obviously panicking and completely overwhelmed. Judging by the looks of things she was about to snap and break down in tears. "Babygirl…" Kabal stepped out behind her to offer a calming hand on her shoulder. "What's going on?

His question grated on her nerves since it was quite obvious what was going on. "Well, as you can see I'm drowning under seven little babies right now."

"Yeah, sweet cheeks. I can see that. Why isn't their mother taking care of them?" Kabal found himself quickly becoming overwhelmed also.

"She's dead." Zia said flatly, chasing after one of the dragons that was nipping at Roxy's heels. 

"What?!"

"Fucking dead, Kabal." The sorceress snapped at his ignorance but quickly sighed defeat and softened her tone. "Will you please go out hunting and get them some food, I've got to-"

"I'm staying right here." Kabal interrupted, pulling her into an embrace. "Let me get in touch with Erron and have him do it so I can stay here and help you." 

At first, she fought his embrace but after a few heartbeats, she broke down. "I did everything I could and I still couldn't fucking save her, Kabal!" Zia cried, digging her nails into his leather duster out of frustration. "I gave everything I fucking had and I still couldn't save her. Now dragons may go extinct!"

"Lucrezia, there is seven babies right here, I don't think they will go extinct." Kabal said a bit dumbly.

"Do you know how to raise dragons, Kabal? Because I sure as fuck don't! I would make a horrible mother." The panic of raising one, let alone seven had reached a boiling point.

"Okay, okay. One thing at a time. We gotta get these babies fed and contained. Let me get Erron here and… how exactly are we gonna contain these guys? They're full of piss and vinegar."

Zia released Kabal's embrace to take a deep breath. "Luckily they don't fly until they're fully grown. I can make a tether for them but I'm going to need you to watch them so I can do that. Boone and Roxy have been helpful with helping me keep them out of trouble."

"Okay, baby. Let's get started."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn't take Zia long to make a tether. She enchanted it so that only the babies would stay inside the tether, humans or the Feroxes wouldn't get stuck. Since the babies were small, she kept their radius small. It was basically a magical playpen.

Erron had arrived with a fresh kill and per Zia's instruction, he was cutting the meat up into small pieces so they could hand feed the babies. She handed both of the men a bowl full of meat before taking one for herself. "What we will do is sit down with food and see which ones come to us and whatever one comes to you, you can name."

Fair enough. 

Erron was the first to sit and found himself to have two little hellions bounding toward him. What piqued his interest the most was that they did not have the look of hunger in their eyes, but the look of wanting to cause trouble. 

The first one that made it to him was the color of blood and the night sky when there was no moon. It had greeted him by climbing up into his lap and inadvertently stepping on his balls, making the cowboy's eyes water in pain. But the way it curled up in his lap and took it's food so gently made Erron easily forgive. 

The second was the color of sunshine and reminded him of home. It was playfully nipping at the spurs on his boots and was obviously quite amused. When he picked it up and attempted to sit it in his lap, it bit down on his finger playfully with it's needle-like puppy teeth. Just how small but ferocious the creature was allowed the cowboy's heart to have room for it. 

"Zia, darlin'." Erron called. "How do we know their gender?

"Females have a vertical slit between their legs and males have a nub. Jesus Christ, Erron do you not know anatomy?"

Well, that was…. emasculating. 

The cowboy checked over the red and black dragon first. "Looks like you're going to be my little Helly girl." Then turned his attention to the other dragon that was still gnawing on his finger. "Looks like you're going to be my little Goji girl."

Erron was so focused on the dragons in his lap that he hadn't noticed the runt of the litter had crept up to the bowl and tried to eat, but it's siblings had bullied it, denying it access. Gently, he scolded the two and sat them aside so he could gather the bullied one in his arms. It was the color of glaciers and had a sweet demeanor, on top of all of that, it was another girl. "And you'll be my little Elouise."

Kabal had been sitting with his food for some time now and the dragons didn't seem all that interested. When he had started to feel invisible, a timid little dragon the color of the galaxies crept up to him. It seemed to be testing Kabal, to see if he was trustworthy.

Holding out a piece of meat, the swordsman smiled and cooed gently, making sure to praise once the dragon had taken the food. Seemingly, with it's siblings approval, another dragon that was the color of exotic leaves bound over to Kabal and climbed up into his lap to get it's share. 

Once both dragons were in his lap and eating comfortably Kabal checked them. The purple dragon was finally comfortable enough to let him hold it long enough for him to discover it's a little girl. "My little Spidey girl." The swordsman hummed, admiring how pretty the pattern on it's wings was. The green dragon was squirmy as all hell but held still long enough for Kabal to find another little girl in his hands. "And my little Gracey girl."

Zia had found two extremely dominant males in her lap. One was the color of sunsets in paradise and wore a crown of bone that she had named Aslan. The other was the color of murky corruption and had tattered wings that she had named Eskel.

"They're like puppies." Kabal stated, enjoying how snuggly his two girls were.

Erron grunted in agreement but found himself struggling to juggle the three girls that demanded his attention. "What's the story about their mama, anyway?"

"She died." Zia responded flatly again. "Basically, she knew that she couldn't live to raise these guys. I guess I only bought her enough time to incubate them. Before she went she bestowed the power of different elements upon each individual egg." She took a shaky breath to exhale her shame for her shortcoming before answering the question she knew was on the mercenary's minds. "Erron, it looks like the red and black one is a blood type and the orange one is fire, the blue is ice. Kabal, your purple dragon is lightning and green is poison. My orange is tropical water type and my grey is corruption. It's up to me now to ensure they live and carry on their bloodlines."

"We will help you, Lucrezia." Kabal added. "You can't possibly handle all of this on your own."

Deep down, she believed him. But this wasn't puppy training, this was much larger than that and it was something google couldn't help her with. There was no 'Dragon Raising For Dummies' books. 

It was either sink or swim and she felt like she was drowning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally hatched the babies. I wanted to use them as a way to immortalize some people that have supported me since the beginning. I coded the babies in Ark so you can have some visuals and I'll include the link here: https://kenbofosho.tumblr.com/post/637919371836227584/zias-aslan-zias-eskel


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The holidays are so hard for me and I'm going to classify this work as DEAD DOVE. I don't reccomend anyone read this. It was just something I needed to write down.

Footprints in the sand led to a rickety formation of rocks, climbing and transcending down into a deep crevice, not wanting to be found. Kabal wondered why the fuck she would traipse around like this barefoot but judging by the pattern and path chosen, she wanted to disappear.

Zia was sitting under an overhang of rock at the water's edge, abstractly doodling in the sand using the force of her magic. She knew he was there, choosing to not acknowledge him. 

The merc picked up the mood she was setting down and opted to not speak. Instead, he sat next to her, removing his boots and socks to cool his heels off in the Outworld ocean. 

Silence weighed more heavily on her conscience than the storm brewing in her mind. "If I talk about it, I'm going to cry."

"So, cry." He responded nonchalantly, kicking his feet around in the ocean. "You do what you gotta do to feel better, baby." 

"This is hard." She began, not really knowing where to start.

"Parenting?"

"I don't want to be a parent, Kabal. I don't want someone obligated to love me."

Okay, obviously this wasn't about the dragons. "Zia, I can't believe that's what you think being a parent is."

"It is though, you bring someone into the world and control their life because they're completely dependent on you, molding them to be what you want them to be. When in the end they'll probably just end up hating you and blaming you anyway." Morbid was an absolute understatement for her tone.

Kabal had never seen her like this and it was obvious there was more beneath the surface. "What is this really about? I know it's not those dragons."

She sighed, finally stopping playing in the sand. "You said I'd make a good mom." She spat, the words obviously sitting bitter with her. "It made me think about my mom. She wasn't a good mom. There was so much abuse and I just don't know how I'll ever get over it sometimes."

The idea of reminding her that she isn't her mother bounced around in Kabal's brain but deep down he guessed she already knew that. He was vigorously searching for the right thing to say when she started to speak again. 

"I just don't understand why I'm never good enough…" 

Instinct told Kabal to argue her, to correct her and comfort her. In this case, instinct was wrong, he needed to listen.

"In the end my mom abandoned me. She was always a sheep to whatever scumbag man she was with and the one she ended up with had small children that she could start over with since I came out so horribly. It was slow with her, though. Gradual ignoring turned into her only getting Christmas\birthday gifts for his kids and then, eventually, she blocked me. I thought I'd be used to it because that's literally how every relationship I've been in has ended. I meet this guy, I think he's great and things will be different. Then I get comfortable…. and then he ghosts me. Just drops off the face of the earth and acts like I never existed, like to our relationship never existed. Well, I guess I shouldn't leave out the dudes that get verbally and physically abusive before they ghost me, that would be rude to them." Zia took a sharp breath to fight back her tears. "I thought I'd be used to it since it's happened to every relationship I've been in, even friendships, but it being my mom didn't make it any easier."

It was obvious that there was a heavy weight that followed Zia around everyday, smothering her and Kabal felt bad for her. More importantly, he wanted to hold her but he knew that she needed to work through this without interference. 

"I feel so bad about myself. I mean, that shit just keeps repeating, so obviously I'm the problem. I do not fucking understand what is wrong with me! I try to be conscious of my actions and always see myself for things to improve but I just don't get it! What. Is. Wrong. With. Me?!"

"I wouldn't change a fucking thing about you, Lucrezia." Kabal whispered, trying to process the pain she was feeling. "Even if you eat a bagel with mayo on it every morning, I wouldn't change you. I wouldn't want to imagine my life without you in it."

She heard him and believed him, which wrenched a foamy pit in her stomach open. "I have to be honest with you, Kabal. I have a compulsion that I wrestle with quite frequently. It's not like gambling or the need for a drink, either. My veins… call to me. I just feel the very real need to slice them open and let them flow. In death I would finally get some good fucking sleep… maybe even the pain would be gone. I want to kill myself so fucking badly"

Suicide never really crossed Kabal's mind. It wasn't because of the fear of the other side or eternal damnation. It just simply never crossed it but he could understand how she could see death as a way of ending suffering and bringer of peace.

But did calamity really last forever?

"I don't understand why I'm not good enough, Kabal." She sobbed, finally succumbing to how horrible she felt. "I don't understand why I'm ugly, fat, and can't do things right despite all my best efforts. I. Don't. Understand!"

This was a wave that they had to ride out together. Zia needed to get it out and Kabal needed to just listen.

"My mom made me do diet after diet and my body never fucking changed. Why did my body never change? She gave me fucking narcotic diet pills when I was 15 for Christ's sake and I never lost the weight. It didn't matter whatever I did, it was always 'oh, you really shouldn't be doing that. No one wants to see a fat person doing that.' and 'who could ever love a fat person.'"

"And what is it about this 'blood is thicker than water' bullshit. Mom always swore up and down that she loved me more than anything (abandoning me aside). When I was super small one of my first memories was of her junkie boyfriend coming into my room at night with bad intentions and me crying and screaming for my mom (who swore to always protect me) but he had choked me to unconsciousness to make me stop. When I told her about it years later she said, 'it seemed worse in my little child mind than it actually was.' But how could I, a child, make up something like that without actually going through it?!"

"I guess it was an early life lesson to learn the nature of bad men… except I didn't really learn. The first date I had ever went on in my entire life I ended up abducted and raped, dumped a few hours away from home. A year after that despite my heart being closed off, this new guy weasels his way in and I confess to him everything I've been through. He promises he will take care of me, he would never hurt me and is a total white knight. Yeaaaah, right. He spends half the year getting me to trust him completely and then gradually shifts into his true monstrous form. The gaslighting and manipulation aside, he never touched me. I was tainted, filthy. I ended up only there to serve him, to please him. I was meat. He used to fuck other women in front of me to remind me that I was too filthy to be touched like that. Then one day, when he was done. I never heard from him again. Ghosted, abandoned, just like all the rest had done to me."

"I don't know how to function like a normal human being. I'm constantly anxious, skeptical, miserable and in fear. I can't even enjoy being with you, Kabal because I DON'T KNOW HOW. I can't even enjoy the food I eat because all I can focus on is how bad it is for my body. Oh, and let's not talk about the fact that I can't even relax when I'm around you and just take pleasure in the blissful moments between us because the crippling fear of just waiting for you to leave me is enormous."

"It fucking infuriates me that someone can fuck me up so badly and just go on living their life, unaffected. It's not fucking fair. Why am I shackled to this trauma and mental illness while they get to go out and live a normal life? I'm so sick of confiding all of this shit into someone only for them to not respect what hurts me and use it against me. I just want to be dead, so I can finally find some peace."

"I make such a fool of myself. I'm so fucking pathetic. I never learn and I just hope for a better outcome that never comes. I would be doing the world a favor if I was dead. I'm the one who always has to apologise when I'm hurt anyway. Why can't I just be appreciated and get back what I give? How come I don't get unconditional love and support?"

"Well who could love someone as fat and broken as me? All my mind is ever consumed with is anxiety. I'm such a drag to be around and I have eating disorders that control my life. Constant binging, purging, starving, and swallowing fist fulls of diet pills to name a few."

Kabal couldn't take it anymore. All of the sobbing and heartbreak was just too painful for his soul and he needed to intervene. Picking her up in his arms, he cradled her against his form. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong, that she had worth and that he would show her things could be different. But deep down he knew he couldn't tell her she was wrong about her own feelings. 

Any promise he made to her about being different or that he won't hurt her… ever, would fall on ears that heard him but would never truly believe him, as much as they wanted to. Body image was something he struggled with. After all, he did look like a ghoul but ugliness had never made him want to die. It had made him bitter, meaner and ugly on the inside, though. 

"Lucrezia." He whispered, holding her even tighter over his heart. "I love you as you are. I accept you as you are..." Kabal paused for a moment to swallow back the tears that were stinging his eyes. Those tears were born of a realization. "I know that people say that suicide is selfish… but I think it's equally selfish to force someone to live that doesn't want to. You're in so much pain that you truly feel like ending your life would end that suffering, it would be awful of me to force you to live with that agony. I would gladly take the agony of losing you if it meant you didn't need to suffer any longer."

It seemed like an eternity that she sobbed. Weeping her soul out into puddles that stained his shirt. His words burned like fire in her soul, licking and engulfing all of her conscience. 

"That doesn't mean that I want you to go, baby. I don't ever want you to leave me… and I know that every promise that was made to you has been broken but I fucking promise to give you a reason every day to keep living. I promise to do everything I can to heal that pain, to correct all that you have suffered and most of all, love you unconditionally."

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed, feeling the deep rooted hurt that her feelings had caused inside of him. "I shouldn't have said anything. I overshared-"

Kabal was going to stop that in it's tracks. Gently, he cupped her face to have her streaming eyes look at him. "Don't you ever hide from me, sweetheart. Don't ever censor yourself to spare me. I want the truth from you, always. I accept you as you are and won't ever make you feel bad for that." 

Despite how desperately she wanted to believe him, a cruel voice in the back of her mind prevented that. All she could see was the searing pain that awaited her when he finally grew tired and left. 

Because in the end, they always leave.


End file.
